I love poetry, generally prefer poetry rich in metaphor and allusions, this set is more direct (though containing a number of nice mythological references)... But this slim volume is one of the most touching, sad and beautiful books I've ever read... I'll reread this a hundred times... and hope I find a love as deep.

In "Sorrow," Claribel Alegria has created poetry of great beauty and power. This is a bilingual edition, with each of Alegria's Spanish poems accompanied by Carolyn Forche's English translations. Forche has also written an introduction in which she explains how much of this book reflects Alegria's emotions over the death of her husband, Bud Flakoll.

Alegria's poems are emotionally raw, and graced with lyrical beauty and stunning imagery. Many of the poems in this collection revisit figures from Greek mythology: Ariadne, Circe, Sisyphus, and more. Particularly powerful is "The Reflections of Icarus," which re-imagines this character as a metaphor for poets. A number of other poems are short, haiku-like creations that examine both nature and the human world.

In the poem "This Is a Night of Shadows," Alegria writes, "My heart wishes / to burst with rage / but it sprouts wings." This memorable image is characteristic of her work. Alegria moves from tragedy to transcendence, and her work is rich in insight. This is an important volume by one of the great writers of Central America.

All the poems in this collection grew out of the the poet's grief when she lost her husband. Her voice comes from a space deep within and is immediate. The grief and pain in all the poems is devastating and all-encompassing, but transformative. Her sadness and sense of loss colors every aspect of her life, but then shifts and dissipates, lifting her to another place in space and time. It was so refreshing to read a poet who so beautifully acknowledges and expresses deep emotion.

Alice Pero's work weaves its way around the psyche like so many vines gone "liberated." It is ephemeral at times, while rock solid at others; allowing for the ebb and flow that is life. There are many possible "reads" of this book~none (thank goodness) will be the same...neither will the reader, upon being freed up from too much gravity, finding him/herself reaching contentedly ever closer to the stars.

Alice Pero writes lean, twisty, surprising lines. She's not afraid of abstractions or even of old-fashioned soaring, but even her flightiest poems ambush us with bits of kitchenware and other earthly trinkets, always, somehow, appropriate. Her ability to move like lightning between familiar and esoteric reminds me of Emily Dickinson, except that in Alice's poems, death is no masterful gentleman, just a bratty kid throwing a tantrum because no one in Alice's world quite believes in him. She's often funny and occasionally (e.g., in her poem "With Very Good Reason", dedicated to the New Yorker) gloriously snide (and spot-on). I found that the book improved as I read, and even on rereading (which the book demanded), I found the first section less compelling than what followed, so I urge browsing readers to sample the later chapters as well as Chapter 1 before making up their minds. I think if you do, you'll find she'd speaking to you and that she speaks VERY well.

Her work is highly readable,simple in its rhythms, wonderfully rich in its content. She has obviously put in the hours and effort to hone each of these poems to completeness. Even poems tinged with loss are kept from becoming maudlin or overly wrought. Everything is clean as can be.

BERMUDA ATLAS AND GAZETTEER

Paradise lost, paradise found,
In pages that are bound.
A timeless treasure of pictures and words,
If you've never seen, nor heard
The Siren's song like those who've been.
You'll want to return again and again.

-----------------------------------------------------

1962

Thoughts of the past come back
To a place called "Cotton Patch",
It's not here in Tennessee,
But somewhere far across the sea.
A pale green house high on a hill,
I wonder if it sits there still,
Surrounded by banana trees
And childhood memories.
Salt spray on shutters in a storm,
A pony to ride in the neighbor's barn,
White steps on our roof to catch the rain,
I wonder if it's still the same.
Caves to hide in and rocks to climb,
Out all day, never mind the time,
Easter lilies grown to sell,
But we didn't have to pay for the smell,
Or the view--
Every day was something new.
Gnarled cedars on a sandy path--
I think I found it on a map
In the BERMUDA ATLAS AND GAZETTEER,
A book to ponder year after year,
To find the places I have seen,
Long ago and in my dreams.

Jane Barcroft Forgy
9/6/00

A beautifully designed and thoughtful book. The watercolors evoke the pink gentile Bermuda I visited as a child. This book is a must for any history and nautical buff who wants to learn of the origins of the island,as well as shipping and sailing lore.400 pages of comprehensive, thorough, detailed information about this corner of paradise on earth

As a first-time visitor to Bermuda, I was looking for a comprehensive book to learn about the island's history and culture. I was struck by this sophisticated volume - it stood out among the others for its beautiful look and feel, more like a fine 19th century guide for the well-heeled traveler. I found the watercolors alluring and then, as I scouted Bermuda, I realized that the artist had painted with such sensitivity and grace that he captured the real beauty of his chosen sites. For instance, the magnificent painting of the cave in Tom Moore's Jungle is exactly as the mystical and enchanted grotto appears in real life. Yet the artist's style still adds something magical that photographs or other mediums could not match. The book is also a joy to read as well as behold. The author's writing style, while factual, is easy to read and the entries include interesting folklore and anecdotes about all the places of Bermuda. The book is at once a valuable reference volume, an atlas with sixteen fold-out maps, and a beautiful collection of exquisite watercolors. Although it is pricey, the Bermuda Atlas is well worth the money spent as the ultimate souvenir of the island.

Ché Guevara Speaks to Youth
The titles of these speeches are enough to tell why this should be every rebel's handbook.

As a physician, he explained that being good people is not enough to become a revolutionary doctor - one must make a revolution. Once that revolution had won through, he explained the tasks communist youth face. This advice may be taken well to heart, because there are too many people who try to be good persons, and leave it at that.

Read el Ché in his own voice, so you can make up your own mind. This is what Pathfinder Press stands out for: offering space for revolutionaries to speak for themselves. And well earned is this addition to the "...Speaks" "series."

Historically, this individual's intellectual development may be traced in this volume. The reader can see how the ideas gelled into what was to become the first experiment in the socialism of solidarity, which was retaken in 1985, just in time before the USSR began to quaver.

...as an equal.Too many books are out there "interpreting" Che Guevara ; most often by academics who fear and hate revolution.Here Che speaks for himself : how the Cuban revolution discovered the "road of Marx" by breaking out of the Yanqui Empire fror good; how "lone wolf" individualists do NOT make social revolutions; how to be a revolutionary MD or anything else "first a revolution must be made"; the need for a disciplined revolutionary youth organization;how to learn from fighting workers and peasants while fighting alongside them;internationalism as a necessity and a duty; the fight against postrevolution bureaucracy.These ideas as guide to action are how revolutionary Cuba has survived and will survive.Young and not-so-young fighters REQUIRE THIS BOOK as "globalized capitalism" tears our lives apart.To fight back "intelligently, as Malcolm X would say.Read "Cuba And The Coming American Revolution" by Jack Barnes side by side with this gem of a book.

Even if you are not so young person like myself, you can find your youth and your belief in the future,through Che's vision in these speeches. Whether speaking to a group of medical students in Havana, or a Latin American Youth Congress, or to anti-imperialist youth from around the world gathered in Algeria, Che's message to young people was not watered down. These speeches are a serious charge to young people to take the present and the future in their hands, and follow his vision of struggle for socialism, for the needs of working people, the oppressed, around the world. The ideas in this book are just as, or perhaps, even more valid than when Che lived.

Cheryl Gittens-Jones captures the essence of colonialism and all of its insidious effects in her first novel. The Cleansing is an important read for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of the effects of international hegemony on the family; the metaphoric microcosm. Gittens-Jones reveals the truth that is rarely told, as seen through the eyes of a deeply perceptive Unis MonteClaire. I was fortunate enough to have attended a reading in which Gittens-Jones brought her chapter heading poems to life in the lyrical and emotional Bajan dialect. I highly recommend The Cleansing, or anything else written by this young, passionate writer who writes from the soul.

This book is a must read!!! The author gave first reading at Odyssey bookstore, South Hadley on May 03, 2003. The poems in THE CLEANSING
were performed by the author and I was blown away!!! Impressive and awe inspiring work. This new Caribbean Woman Writer is going places. I highly recommend this work. It is profound. THE CLEANSING will give major insight about the system of colonialism and how it can have a negative impact generation after generation if not acknowledged.

Cheryl Gittens-Jones first Novel "The Cleansing" is a dynamic and vital addition to the carribean woman's writing genre. Her examination of the legacies of racisms, sexism, and colonialism on the Barbadian family is a must read!

Watch out when booking a tour! You're a captive to your boat, your crew, your mates--most of the time on tours is spent en masse, so know before you go. This guide was of great help in selecting a tour, even after hours of internet research.We packed as told, and were glad to have the extra towels, bags, etc. The photography tips weren't relevant to us, but they are equally extensive. He's right--get your guide up early in the morning for optimum viewing. Recommended.

Written by the owner of the tour company we decided to go with, I had ordered of copy of this from an Internet bookstore, only to find that we were to receive a free copy with our trip deposit. The extra went to Jill's mom, who travels vicariously with us when she and Bob aren't gallivanting about on their own. If you can only get one book for your trip to the Galapagos, this is the most comprehensive, covering booking a tour; the history, geology, botany, zoology of the islands; and photographing flora, fauna and landscape, all written in a light, humorous style. Other guide books go into farther detail on some items, but this is the best one stop shop.

The first time I saw this book, I viewed it with a jaundiced eye- after all, Barry is the owner-operator of a travel agency specializing in travel to the Galápagos Islands! Glad I took the time to read it- I've bought every edition since the first!

Barry's book is objective, comprehensive and as up to date as a printed guide can be given that boats are launched and agencies change hands, and includes detailed information on the tour operators, their specializations (e.g. birding, diving, etc.) and even the individual boats. (This is especially valuable- there is no US Coast Guard to assure marine safety in Ecuadórian waters, and the boat you spend a week or more on can make or break the trip- or even you, as more than one boat has sunk or burned.) The book reveals why you can not do the Galápagos justice with a land-based trip, nor in most cases (depending on your trip goals) with a large cruise ship.

You will learn when to go, how to save money to the extent possible, which operators respect the fragile island environment, which ones have university-trained naturalist-guides, which ones do a true seven day trip, vs. those who will take your money for a "seven day trip" and actually put you on a three day trip with a four day trip following (meaning you spend a lot of time in the same places you saw already, not to mention going to port to take on and discharge passengers.) Barry has a dry sense of humor- his slogan is "¡Viva la evolución!"

As someone who has been to "las Islas Encantadas", as the Galápagos islands is often described in Spanish, who is going again in 2003, I highly recommend this book to anyone contemplating traveling there as a key planning tool. I only hope Barry is planning to update his valulable book again SOON!

At first glance Heather Neff's "Wisdom" may look like another one of those "journey to find my roots" lightweight novels. It is in fact a novel that reads so beautifully it is almost like a long poem. Maia is from Michigan and visits St. Croix for a 3-week vacation. Stories have been passed down in her family about their Crucian roots and Maia wants to see the island. She meets Severin (nicknamed "Seven" because he is the 7th son) who is the sole male survivor of the Wisdom estate. While there Maia discovers her own ties to the Wisdom estate and Seven. The author "Heather Neff" was inspired to write this novel after living on the island of St. Croix for two years and painting a picture of a slave sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Ms. Neff is very respectful about the island, and the natives and touches on the anti-American sentiment that is under the surface when Americans visit these islands and treat them as their own private playgrounds. There are underlying themes of love, loneliness, and illness. Ms Neff is able to carry all of these subplots off while keeping the story interesting. I recommend novel to anyone that enjoys reading about travel, family histories, or simple love stories.

Reviewed by
Sandra Pettiford

"Wisdom" takes its place among the top ten books that I have read this year. It amazes me that this book has gone virtually undiscovered and unpraised by the literary arena while other less skillfully written, shallow books receive high praise simply because the authors name is one that is "recognized"???

"Wisdom" is a beautiful story about the determination of a woman who, in what she believes are her last days, sets out to discover who she really is and who her ancesters were -- to reclaim her family. The book is set in St. Croix and Ms. Neff gives the reader a front row view of the beauty and mystery of the island and its history and culture as the story of Wisdom unfolds. From start to finish this is a story that holds your attention and draws on your emotions. I can easily envision this story as a movie that would receive rave reviews.

I applaud Ms. Neff and thank her for the time devoted to writing a literary treasure! I look forward to her next. . .

Wisdom is a must read!

Wisdom by Heather Neff is a rich and colorful story about a woman in search of
her past. In Wisdom, we meet Maia Ransom, a visitor to the island of St. Croix
who has adapted to the Crucian lifestyle like a native. Maia is drawn to the
island after years of hearing about the estate Wisdom. Wisdom is the place
where her ancestors served as slaves and it harbors many secrets about Maia's
family and the Johanssens, the landowners of the estate.

Heather Neff tells a vibrant story of a woman trying to find her destiny
through her family's history. Maia is a strong and mysterious character who
will capture readers from the first page. Neff makes readers care about her
and she lays the ground work for the readers to develop a beautiful
relationship with Maia through writing that is often lyrical and poetic. The
island of St. Croix is described in such magnificent detail that is sure to
motivate a trip or two among readers. The supporting characters are also
colorful, full of life, and memorable.

Wisdom is a poignant read told by a master storyteller. Heather Neff is an
extremely talented writer with a flare for description and building compelling
characters. Reviewed by Diane Marbury (HonestD).

It's always refreshing to read about the Caribbean, especially when it involves carnival and when the recount is being done by such a great writer. I must say that at times I felt like screaming that this woman really does not know how to let loose and really enjoy carnival. Just imagine if she were in Trinidad instead playing j'ouvert, and doing carnival for 2 days straight!! Nevertheless, I liked the fact that she paid careful attention to detail and incorporated much historical content into the novel.

You are given a challenge that harkens back to your childhood ---return to carnival and write about it. You think about the consequences, and perhaps second guess yourself for allowing someone to even suggest going back to deal with the demons that sent you packing in the first place. Such is the case that the author contemplates in this installment of The Crown Journeys, a new series that has authors writing about different places around the world after traveling them on foot.

While acquiescing and taking the walk that spawned this book, Edwidge Danticat doesn't disappoint. In recent years she has fast become a media darling and one of Haiti's rising stars in literature. Here she shares with her readers a poignant and compelling view of the Jacmel Carnival, one of the Caribbean's major carnivals --- rivaled with and compared only to Rio and Trinidad. She gives insight and deep-rooted analogies of historic content, exploration of the land in and around her hometown of Jacmel, and the traditions of the people themselves as a true native would tell it.

The old adage of "there's no place like home" will always have a sense of purpose when coming back, and relative to the aforementioned, Ms Danticat gives the readers something to digest. Along the way she visits a cemetery and reveals what she thinks of them: 'I have always enjoyed cemeteries. Altars for the living as well as resting places for the dead they are entryways, I think to any town or city'the best places to become acquainted with the tastes of the inhabitants, both present and gone'.

She also references Jacmel's uneven history via the landmarks she remembered as a child; gives a detailed explanation of how the masks and costumes play a major role based on age-old fables; and revisits the hills and rainforests with stories supporting political drama(s) relative thereof. The customs, social life, and other ménage of experiences associated with carnival represents an expressive attitude that inspires the people of this proud nation a reason to shun struggle, forget present troubles and escape to the wild hedonistic, but sexual suggestive party that bring out carnal knowledge at its best.

The one thing that got my interest early on in this narrative is the fact that she was scared off from celebrating the rituals associated with this celebration by a family member. How she has dealt with it over the years --- and the decision to face this challenge is worthy reading. In the process she's able to rediscover herself and shed inhibitions in embracing this festive time. Witness the reckless abandon as she describes the freedom she now can express without remorse. I feel that readers will feel as mesmerized as I was --- and feel as if you were there too.

--- Reviewed by Alvin C. Romer

Until this short, entertaining book, part memoir and part travelogue, I'd never read much of anything positive about Haiti. Years of political strife and the Duvalier dictatorships have certainly taken its toll on this densely populated third of Hispaniola (the rest is the Dominican Republic), but apparently Haiti is ready for tourists again and there's much to attact us there. Carnival, those jubilant and reckless days before Lent, would be a grand time to go. Like similar celebrations in Rio, Venice, and New Orleans, this a festival of the bizarre and the ridiculously sublime. Danticat is a fine writer and portrays her native country and countrymen with clarity and passion. This is part of Crown Journeys, a very promising new series of travel essays, written by some of our finest contemporary authors. Educating and entertaining; makes you want to book passage on the next flight or ship.

I was really surprised when I read this book! If you have ever been to Trinidad, it is really interesting to relate what you have seen with this book. Samuel Selvon portrayed the life of a peasant and made an interesting, factual narrative. I enjoyed seeing how the Yankees came to the country and built the highway. I always wondered how it got the name "Churchhill-Roosevelt" and now I know. Great book, and I recommend to read this book if you have been to the Island.

This book is absolutely brilliant. It captures the true multi ethnic fabric of Trinidadian society through the trials of an Indian boy struggling to make it in early 20th century Trinidad. This book brings to light many ethnic and cultural issues that are a now inherent part of Trinidadian life, and is not only a brilliant piece of literature that should be cherished, but a piece of Caribbean history.

war and rapid changes politically and economically.arranged marraige takes place between two young inexperienced teenagers.readjustment to a new life style brings into focus the struggle of becoming mature to survive.their marriage was consumated in the midst of high emotions and confusion.