Horses and the Human Soul

Rating:
Summary: Barrington at her best
Review: This is the poet's third book of poems and marks a big leap forward in confidence, grasp of form, and weight of subject matter. She is sometimes funny, often wise, and the poems are elegant, some in traditional forms, others merely musical. There is a notable work about New York's twin towers ("AfterImage") written in old accentual verse, which, in its true form, falls into two columns remarkably like the towers themselves. There are a few political poems, transforming righteous indignation into poetry, and many poems rooted in the natural world and focusing on animals. The horses of the title appear even in poems not directly about them. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers including those normally wary of poetry. It is both accessible and a good read.