Review by Booklist Review
Psychiatrist Berlin explores the medical profession in his second collection of poetry, which won the 2010 John Ciardi Poetry Prize. Although all of the poems in this collection are quaint and will certainly intrigue both physicians and patients, Berlin appeals most not when he is analyzing his patients, but himself. For instance, in How a Psychiatrist Writes a Poem, Berlin describes the sound of brown leaves / skittering across the sidewalk / on this mild November day / and the smell of smoke / from fires burning in the fields. The poem segues into a meditation on Berlin's relationship with his mother, though before he can share these feelings with his therapist, the session is over. Berlin concludes by gazing out the window and noticing how the leaves still cling / to the oak before they let go. Not only does Berlin's poem pulse with sensuality but he embeds double entendre: the old oak symbolizes his mother; the leaves his memories. In Playing God in the Hospital, Berlin seems to be echoing another famous doctor-poet: A fly buzzes / black complaints / at the glass. He is a twenty-first-century William Carlos Williams.--Goykadosh, Bracha Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
