Knopf Doubleday, Belletristik, The Players (Englisch, Jill Bialosky, 2017)

The strongest collection yet from this widely praised poet is about the central players in our lives, our relationships over time&mdash between mother and son, mother and daughter&mdash and how one generation of relationships informs and shapes the next. The opening sequence, &ldquo Manhood,&rdquo looks at the insular world of baseball, shedding light on the complexities of gender, boyhood, and coming-of-age. The poet captures the electrifying, proud language of baseball talk, channeling the tone and approach of the young men she observes as a mother, and bringing poignancy and deeper understanding to the transaction between herself and the young men she sees growing into adulthood. &ldquo American Comedy&rdquo is a sonnet sequence about the absurdities and realities of modern domestic life, while figures in literature are the players in &ldquo Interlude.&rdquo The final section, &ldquo The Players,&rdquo becomes a forceful and searing revelation about the legacy of generations. Exploring the nature of attachment on many levels, The Players brings us Jill Bialosky at her best, in poems that find a new language to describe the rich and universal story that is modern motherhood.