A WOMAN'S BOOK OF GRIEVING

 An elegant collection of prose-poems and verses characterized by an extreme compression of language--perhaps the only way to respect the failure of words to capture grief while insisting, nevertheless, on speaking. Rapoport rails at the deaths of family and friends; prays for a ``Good Death'' with a minimum of suffering; affirms the company of others, especially women, in sorrow. These pieces express a wide range of emotions that accompany loss. The spirit of the book is one of biblical lamentation, tempered at times by a grateful sense of the refuge to be found in grieving for loss--and celebrating life--with others. 12 lithographs. (Book-of-the-Month alternate selection)