Linda Pastan (1932–2023) was the author of fifteen volumes of poems. A two-time National Book Award finalist and former poet laureate of Maryland, her many honors include the Maurice English Award and the 2003 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. Her poems have been translated into eight languages.
With most of her personal wars fought and compromises forged, Pastan, now past 50, shows signs of settling into resigned domesticity in her sixth collection. While writing has apparently both provoked and provided an escape from marital stress (``I pile page/ after page, like sandbags, between us''), Pastan generally celebrates her art for preserving the essence of experience. As the record of ordeals overcome, these poems present long-term marriage as a marathon, now almost completed. Pastan's concernsbooks, garden, travels, health breakdowns, and instructions to childrenare often those of middle age as she makes ready ``to let the curtain/ of darkness down'' in an accessible and moving volume. Joseph A . Lipari, St. John's Univ. Lib., Staten Island Campus, N.Y.
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