Leap Year Day: New and Selected Poems

by Maxine Chernoff, Maxine Chernof

NOTED POET AND FICTION WRITER MAXINE CHERNOFF'S LEAP YEAR DAY CULLS THE BEST FROM FIVE PREVIOUS COLLECTIONS OF POETRY, AND INCLUDES SOME TWO DOZEN NEW POEMS. SHE IS THE AUTHOR OF THE FICTION COLLECTION BOP. HER PREVIOUS BOOK OF POETRY, NEW FACES OF 1952, WAS WINNER OF THE 1985 CARL SANDBURG AWARD AND RECIPIENT OF A PUSHCART PRIZE WRITER'S CHOICE AWARD. HER LATEST NOVEL IS PLAIN GRIEF 1991. IF THE WORLD COULD LOOK THROUGH MAXINE'S EYE FOR EVEN FIVE MINUTES EVERY DAY, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED WHATSOEVER FOR THE POMPOUS SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT CURRENTLY SPOILS THE POLIS. HER VIEWS OF HUMAN LIFE ARE WISE AND INSTRUCTIVE TALES THAT CURE BY CORRECTING PERSPECTIVE. SHE IS ONE OF OUR BEST ZADDIKS. IT'S THE TRUTH.

Genres: Poetry

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Nadine Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are poems in Leap Year day that I read over and over and will probably continue to read over the years. But many of the poems were too abstract for me. I love surrealism but, as it turns out, I have a limit on how much abstraction I can consume in one sitting. The poetry shows superb mastery of craft, but the lack of cohesive narrative in many of the pieces meant the poems lacked emotional resonance. That being said, there is some brilliant writing in this book and some of the poems blew me away. I'd love to try some of Chernoff's short stories. She's a heck of a writer. My review comes down more to my own personal proclivities as a reader. People who love innovative surrealist poetry will LOVE this book.