In his sixth book of poems, Alan Shapiro once again shows that he is a
master at articulating the secrets of the heart. The Dead Alive and
Busy deals with issues of personal identity as revealed through
examining the intimate bonds of family life. The poems explore these
familial relations in terms of the religious, social, and literary
contexts that inform them, delving into such universal themes as human
frailty, illness and death, bereavement, and thwarted desires. By turns
lyrical and narrative, slangy and elevated, analytical and visionary,
this collection showcases one of America's most important poets in his
top form.
Praise for Alan Shapiro: "Shapiro is a shrewd and sympathetic moralist.
He never trivializes his subjects with high-minded flourishes or
stylistic gimmicks."--J. D. McClatchy, New York Times Book Review