Publisher's Synopsis
Poetry. The poems in Linda Aldrich's new book BALLAST are stunning and vital. Like the cardinal's color she describes as pulsing in the darkness, these poems acknowledge the dark, but stand bright against all that would break us. Aldrich is beautifully agile with form, whether that form is traditional or wildly inventive, as in her crown of sonnets coupled with their own erasures. These poems bring us heartbreak and longing, but also sly humor and levity, a bench that flies, books with lives of their own, buttons tossed into the toll basket instead of coins. Another pleasure of this book is an astute and surprising exploration of history, from Puritan New England to 1980s San Francisco, as well as the poet's own quirky and moving family stories. The language and feeling here are rich and sure, doing the crucial work of imagination, that is, creating a ground for attention and empathy, the embrace of our shared humanity.--Betsy Sholl
