A Fire in My Hands: A Book of Poems

Rating:
Summary: the poetry of eveyday life
Review: By the author of short stories "Mother and Daughter" and "The Broken Chain," these twenty-three poems recall Soto's years growing up in Fresno, CA and later as a father. His memories mix with metaphors everyone can relate to as he recalls his love of baseball, shyly flirting in the library, and being too broke to treat his date to a candy bar. He remembers trying to earn money to go to the movies by selling oranges door to door, accompanied by a helpful dog. The poems are written in free verse, and the poet introduces each one with a note explaining the circumstances that inspired him to write it. In the Foreword and Question and Answer section at the end, Soto gives kind and helpful advice to those interested in writing their own poems.
This a very accessible and thin volume of poetry with wide appeal.