Shirley Kaufm:~n s second book is a mature and fully realized

composition. She has worked hard to hammer out the means of

telling her truths--and they become truths because it is evident

that she is a perfectly honest woman.

The poet s style has become more direct, more concerned with

human relationships, than in The Floor Keeps Turning (University of

Pittsburgh Press, $4.95). Her interest is directed to the clear utter-

ances of a special and unusual mind. She does not attempt to

moralize, and she pays careful attention to the most interesting

details of what she is writing about, knowing the importance of

saying just enough.

Shirley Kaufman s translation of the work of the Israeli poet Abba

Kovner, A Canopy in the Desert: Selected Poems (University of

Pittsburgh Press, $8.95, paper $3.95), was published in 1973.

She has combined her own poetic skill and her Jewish heritage

in this superb translation.