Amazon.com Review
Carolyn Kizer writes with wit and, well, it's not a word I use a lot, but panache. I've always admired her light verse and wry observations (from "Suppressing the Evidence": "I do not turn on the news. / I and the wine will blot it out."), but I've also come to appreciate the depth in her more serious work. "An American Beauty" addresses a friend's battle with cancer, and uses form very well to heighten both the tension and empathy of the reading experience. The title of this collection refers both to the musicality of Kizer's writing and to the harpy-like sting in some of her work.