Body Beautiful

Centering on a sobering subject—the poet's experience of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, undergoing surgery, and entering recovery—this collection is unsettling, poignant, and chilling while at the same time darkly funny. With trademark irony employed to illuminate some very difficult experiences, the poems range from those sure to chill the reader to those that will make him laugh out loud. An important volume dealing with a compelling subject, this compendium carefully balances seriousness with an engaging wit, memorable imagery, clear human sympathy, and a commendable absence of self-pity.