cover image Roots and Flowers

Roots and Flowers

Liz Rosenberg. Henry Holt & Company, $21.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-8050-6433-9

In another title that takes its inspiration from the family tree, Roots & Flowers: Poets and Poems on Family, ed. by Liz Rosenberg, 40 poets make a statement about family, followed by one to three poems. Perhaps the soul of the collection is best summed up by poet Stanley Kunitz, whose statement marvels at his mother's memory for detail, and whose poem, ""My Mother's Pears,"" concludes (as mother and son plant a small pear tree beside the house she built), "" `Make room for the roots!' my mother cries, `Dig the hole deeper.' "" ( Apr.)