Sinners Welcome: Poems
The author of the memoirsThe Liar's ClubandCherrybegan as a poet; this first collection of verse since 1995'sViper Rumalternates between a familiar, unsparing autobiographical vein and a new commitment to Christian belief. Karr, a recovering alcoholic and a temperamental skeptic, entered the Catholic church in 1996, and poems about God, Christ and Christian rituals may draw most readers' attention: "Disgraceland" describes "my first communion at 40," and tries to blend Karr's characteristic acerbity with her interest in religious compassion: "You are loved, someone said. Take that and eat it." Some of the strongest of Karr's clean, direct free-verse efforts have less to do with religion than with her friends, children, parents, vexing early life. When she writes of "the winter Mother's ashes came in a Ziploc bag," fans of her prose will relate.(Mar.)Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.