Selected Poems, by Derek Walcott: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007 Derek Walcott’s status as one of the lesser-known Nobel laureates may just be the result of reader intimidation: His most famous and critically acclaimed work, Omeros, is a 325-page epic poem. This new collection of his equally powerful lyric poetry may serve as a better introduction for the casual reader. Walcott’s frequent use of narrative form makes the poems accessible, while images from a life split between Boston and the Caribbean add sparkle.
Changing Light, by Nora Gallagher:
In the early days of World War II, painter Eleanor Garrigue flees New York for New Mexico in search of artistic inspiration and the passionate intrigue so lacking in her marriage. Both arrive sooner than expected, when a delirious Czechoslovakian scientist—a researcher for the Manhattan Project—appears on her doorstep. As she heals his body, he heals her damaged heart. This novel’s love story, though, is just the platform for a lyrical exploration of loyalty, morality, and loss. Nora Gallagher has already gained a following through her well-written essays on faith, and brings the same considered touch to her first fiction offering.
