Symmetry

In his second book, Symmetry, Marc J. Straus -- an oncologist as well as a poet -- addresses the hopes and the tragedies of his profession. The work is both a commentary on his experience in the medical field and a collection of rich, vivid monologues written from the patient's point of view. These poems have been composed with a rare sensitivity, not only toward those who are suffering but toward those particulars that distinguish each life -- some poignant, some sweetly comical.Straus exercises a fresh versatility in this collection. "Repetition", an honest and personal reflection, cleverly bends through past and present. Its details are carefully chosen: when I was five / the world / looked green from behind my handlebars."Le Mas de Luberon", with its sensuous language and rueful tone, is a gem in the tradition of Stephen Dobyns: Symmetry lays bare the desires, the faith, and the heartbreak found in every human heart.Marc J. Straus is the author of 'Symmetry', published 2000 under ISBN 9780810150966 and ISBN 0810150964.