[Paul Lake]

Whether his subject is the Tower of Babel or "The Emperor's New Clothes," Paul Lake writes with wit, precision, and sometimes cutting honesty. But this accomplished poet isn't all edges. In a poem about an errant teenager, or an elegy for a fellow poet dead too young, Lake, while still unfailingly crystalline in his clarity, can also wring the reader's heart. A strong and distinctive collection. --Rachel Hadas