Valentines
As a love poet McKuen can be direct, folksy or even whimsical ("I'd like to track/ the footprints on the moon/ and carry home to you/ a bouquet of space junk"). His studied simplicity is occasionally touching. But overall the poet's ego is very much in the center of these sentimental verses in a way that impedes their force as love poems. More pose than substance, the pastel lyrics deal with such themes as the pain of parting, the beauty of a beloved's hair, lovers' mutual interdependence. Not all the verses in this collection celebrate love. McKuen writes about old houses, the threat of nuclear annihilation ("Because this year there might not be a Santa Claus . . ., cityscapes, a yellow unicorn; a series of personality profiles limns people he has known. Illustrations. 35,000 first printing; author tour. February 14Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.