A collection of poetry by by Boston-area M.D. L.F. Kizilbash
Rose Water Riddle L.F. Kizilbash ( Dorraine Publish 70 Smithfield St. Third Floor Company, Inc Pittsburh, Penn 15222) $8
L.F. Kizilbash ia a M.D. and a psychiatrist-in-training in the Boston area. This peaked my interest as I have worked as a counselor at McLean Hospital, a psychiatric hospital, for over twenty years. The book is seperated so that the later section of the collection has medical-related poems. I thought a poem titled: " Irritable Bowel" might be an interesting stretch. However, like many of the poems in this section, it is peppered with a plethora of arcane medical language:" ...Paradoxical drag/ green bud a flag through a peristalic lag/ parasympathetic high in G.I." This may make a good medical report, but it does not make for good poetry.
Where Kizilbash succeeds is when she uses rich imagery to explore the primal human experience. This is the case in "Night Swim": " Thirst of an ocean, seabed of salt/anchorless desire/ mapping her horizons/ with his hand creases..."
Although this collection is a mixed bag, Kizilbash shows potential and promise.
Doug Holder/ Ibbetson Update/ Aug 2004/ Somerville, ma.
