Connecting the dots

In these new poems, her eleventh collection, Maxine Kumin expands on the themes that have engaged her most strongly. Family connections resurface as she imagines a letter to her mother, long dead, or assesses the shift of responsibility between generations ("...they still love us who overtake us"). Her dialogue with the natural world - especially with the narrow divide between human and animal - continues, most notably in "Deja Vu", where she pays homage to her personal totem, the bear. Change and the things that never change attract Kumin's attention equally. Whether chronicling the bounty of summer, the cycle of seasons, or memories of youthful parties and lost friends, her voice is wise, clear, and compelling.