Fifty-two poems, more or less traditional free verse, all centering on various 19th century outlaws and their family and friends. Jesse James, Cole Younger, Belle Starr, Doc Holiday, Kid Curry, Black Bart, and Geronimo are just a few . Knight has extended the outlaw metaphor to include very human thoughts and acts, utilizing empathy and understanding to create remarkable personalities which makes them more hero and less villain in the eyes of the reader. Like these words from Cole Younger: "...but I'm not sorry about riding/ with Frank and Jesse./ I'm not sorry about anything." or these words from Calamity Jane: "'I'm just ahead of my time./ In another fifty years/ all women will be doin' it." This is a fine collection for fans of the Old West, outlaws, or revisioned details.--R.R. Lee Etzwiler
This review originally appeared in TapRoot Reviews #5,
Contact the editor, luigi-bob drake, at Burning Press
Copyright Burning Press 1994, 1996.