Human Rights

The welter of well-crafted poems in this first collection reflect a potpourri of structures and aesthetics pinched from the postwar avant-garde. From staccato verse (""What you fear came true/ Years ago./ Families fill and empty"") and related lean, Creeley-like poems, to earthy biographical and autobiographical prose works, Lease's poems reflect thoughtful lineation and a good ear. There's even sarcastic, brand-aware work that resembles the witty cant of language poet Ron Silliman: ""And now we are expensive too, we own 14.99. Your arm so free, like a firefly or a work center."" Walking the line between formal diversity and an impersonal melange of styles, Lease musters a consistent emotional honesty that is exceptionally sharp when dealing with the running theme of thwarted lust and personal failure, with many poems featuring a man naming his loneliness or his surprise at his life's trajectory. (That Lease is editor of the Boston Book Review suggests some successes too.) Lease may not have found his mature voice in this debut, but lyrics like the third section of ""Apartment"" hint at things to come: ""To believe in words spoken// by an angel;/ to worry about the angel's/ intentions. To open// smoothly, like a hand."" (May)