Provincetown and Other Poems

Shifting his focus between crowded urban streets and the world of nature, Connellan keeps his moral compass pointed toward the poor and oppressed-whether they be immigrant chambermaids scrubbing floors on hand and knee or scallop fishermen enduring a Coast Guard strip search. The insistence with which the poet speaks for the underprivileged, however, often subverts the music and power of his work. The threat of violence and death and aging are also themes in this collection; many of the poems are written from motel rooms, reminders of our transiency. Lyrical images occasionally flash: in ``Winter,'' ``hardwoods, Maples Elms seem death bent...''; ``Blue ice is breaking up./ Ice cubes of sky shined on by bright sun'' . In too few poems, ``Maine'' and the longer, six-part ``Provincetown'' among them, Connellan blends moral stance with the music of Pan's pipes and is convincing. (Feb.)