Heaven and Other Poems

At this point in his lengthy career, Horovitz (The Indian Wants the Bronx, Park Your Car in Harvard Yard, etc.) stands among the world's most successful living playwrights; stars from Al Pacino and Marsha Mason to James Franco got their start, or came into their own, through his work. Horovitz has written verse for decades, but has not collected it publicly until now, at age 75, and the result is a varied lot: serious autobiographical poems (including an elegy for his sister) strongly influenced by Robert Lowell; a limerick; an acrostic for Samuel Beckett; quick depictions of Paris, and of "my beloved Gloucester, Mass."; and poems about sex, about crushes, about married love, including "Our Married Life," in which the playwright and his wife become empty nesters: "Amazed, we cling face to face/ To face a single Destiny/ That paired us and prepares us/ For this parting." Horovitz can be grave, or light-hearted, about advancing years, "amid constant battle/ With human inequalities/ Such as snow and cellulite." Horovitz's talent with plots and actors exceeds his talent with the subtleties of a verse line. These poems would likely not receive much attention were Horovitz not otherwise known, but he is and attention may come from the many readers who have enjoyed his plays. (Oct.)