Chicken Farmer I Still Love You 1st edition

Some poems in this notable new collection by Lana Hechtman Ayers engage their smart-alecky, fast-talking characters with energy and spirit, taking on the Hollywood myths - from Bogart to Bugs Bunny - by which Americans live their lives. In this hard-edged ethos, the poet realizes, we may root for the charming, heartless, take-all winners, until we discover that we may be among the vast legion of losers. Some poems here are forays into pure craft - a Sestina that expansively glosses Elizabeth Bishop's of the same name and employs some of the same end words. Like life itself, the comic and serious unfolding of Chicken Farmer, I Still Love You reflects a delightfully spirited work. -- Carolyne Wright