EVE'S STRIPTEASE

by Julia Kasdorf ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 1998

The lightly confessional tone of this second book by the Messiah College teacher draws on the poet's limited vocabulary for describing her bodily self-exploration and her ""rage"" at those who've transgressed her person. ""Sinning"" suggests that poor sexual education--and repressive religious values--explain the poet's lust, not for boys, but for the ""ravishings"" of safe sunlight. In ""Ghost,"" ""A Pass,"" and ""Bulbs,"" she rails against those who groped her as a girl, and laments her own ""vulnerable socket""--clearly never finding a language equal to her anger. Kasdorf's mostly plodding poems also record her time spent in Brooklyn, where the sounds and colors challenge the drabness of her Protestant background. But, even amidst the ethnic whirl and tumble, Kasdorf's modesty and naivetÆ’ prevail and prevent real passion. Her idyll of Mom and Dad, and her aesthetic of Mennonite simplicity, while charming in their way, fail to salvage these rhythmless narratives.

Pub Date: March 10, 1998

ISBN: 0822956683

Page Count: 88

Publisher: Univ. of Pittsburgh

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998

Categories: FICTION