FAITH AND DOUBT

For her intelligent anthology, Vecchione has chosen poems—the longest of them barely three pages and most only one page—that address questions of faith and its mirror shadow, doubt, in the broadest possible manner. They turn the concept like a faceted gemstone, the light changing with the slightest move. Her reach is deep: Of course there is Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson, but there is also Sir Thomas Wyatt and Elizabeth I. Translations from the Hebrew (Amichai), Arabic (Tuqan) and Spanish (Neruda), as well as other tongues, and many forms, from sonnets to free verse, sit easily next to each other across the centuries. Brief biographies of each poet with citations for further reading of their work end the volume, which among its other joys has a powerfully evocative cover image. It inspires both thought and hope, as in Kay Ryan’s “Waste”: “The day misspent, / the love misplaced, / has inside it / the seed of redemption.” (introduction, biographical notes, index) (Poetry. YA)