Thieves in the Family by Maria Lisella

By Lynette G. Esposito

Thieves in the Family by Maria Lisella published by New York Quarterly Books is a good end of summer read for lovers of poetry. The broad range of themes presented in everyday language gives a sense of deep understanding of relationships between nature, humans and the overall the culture we live in.

An example of nature and how one reacts is the last poem of this soft cover volume, My Rain, which creates an ending to the lushness of the warmer months and how one can interpret something as common as rain in an individual way.

My Rain

does not whip the ground

from under me.

Falls straight

As a sheet.

Ends at dawn

in a mist that lingers

over blades of grass.

I like the technique of using the title in a dual function of being the title as well as the first line of the poem. Although the poem has a lyrical sense to it, its directness and clarity expands the image of how perspective on even drops of rain can change a person. The uneven lines contribute to the visualization of the unevenness of rain drops.

This direct and clear approach is all through the book when the narrator remembers her relationship with her father on page 27, Father, fix it, please. The poem opens with The dark befriends me here in the basement. Lisella has given the reader a place that is usually unfriendly and often scary and makes it into the safe and wonderful memory of her father’s workshop where anything can be repaired.

The relationship to our culture is shown on page 57 when she reveals some issues with being short in her poem Lethal. Lisella’s last line draws the poem to a close on the subject of being short: lethal, small and ready to spring. The poem gives images of what it means to be small but gives power to the petite of the world using the common denominator of ballet and turning that suggestion and perhaps negative of being diminutive into power.

In another cultural reference, she speaks of war in her poem Just Boys on page 79 by showing three tombstones of boys who fought the other boys. The opening line is so strong, The sun is about to slip below the grass, that one can feel a graveyard shiver. She speaks of taking pictures as if they could record silence. In the space she has led the reader to, we stand in a dead and quiet war zone of the past but in the present.

The volume is divided into four parts headed by Roman numerals. The 100 page tome covers a wide range of themes drawn from everyday life and presented in both long and short poems. Although the poems are direct and clear, many of them I wanted to read again and again because of the way they made me feel.

Maria Lisella is the Poet Laureate of Queens for 2015 to 2018. Her work has appeared in Amore on Hope Street, Two Naked Feet and many literary journals including Fox Chase Review and New Verse News. She holds an MA in specialized Journalism from NYU-Polytechnic University. She is also a travel writer and editor and has had her work recognized in South Africa, Italy and France.

The book is available from www.nyq.org

Lynette G. Esposito has been an Adjunct Professor at Rowan University, Burlington County and Camden County Colleges. She has taught creative writing and conducted workshops in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Mrs. Esposito holds a BA in English from the University of Illinois and an MA in Creative Writing and English Literature from Rutgers University. Her articles have appeared in the national publication, Teaching for Success; regionally in South Jersey Magazine, SJ Magazine. Delaware Valley Magazine, and her essays have appeared in Reader’s Digest and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Her poetry has appeared in US1, SRN Review, The Fox Chase Review and other literary magazines. She has critiqued poetry for local and regional writer’s conferences and served as a panelist and speaker at local and national writer’s conferences. She lives with her husband, Attilio, in Mount Laurel, NJ.

Recently Received Books

Updated: 6/2/23

Poetry- My Family Was Like a Russian Novel by Carla Sarett – Plan B Press

Novel – Cursebreakers by Madeleine Nakamura – Red Hen Press

*Books no longer appearing on this list have been reviewed, were sent out for possible review. Those not picked up have been donated to little free library locations or local charitable thrift shops.

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Thieves in the Family by Maria LIsella

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Thieves in the Family by Maria Lisella

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Recently Received Books