Riding the Rail

New York-based writer Jeffrey Cyphers Wright reviews Bill Berkson's Portrait and Dream, Afzal Ahmed Syed's Rococo and Other Worlds, and Michele Madigan Somerville's Black Irish in the latest Brooklyn Rail.

The best bit is about boobs (so often true). Wright observes of a Somerville poem:

What begins with a boob representing a Giuliani-type “lughead” (and fascination for the really wrong guy) evolves into worship of a DJ. Cousin Brucie gives sustenance across the airwaves, delivering the excitement it takes to survive. Eventually the poet muses on her own 34Ds as she nurses twins. Just as boobs are a source of sustenance, so does writing about them transfer power.