A 24-hour cotillion

In A 24-hour cotillion, Leonard Trawick has chosen what he considers his best poems written over five decades, many of which have appeared in various anthologies and magazines but have never been collected in a single volume. He justifies the title by pointing out that, like the French dance, many of these poems employ intricate formal patterns--villanelles, rondeaus, ballades, sonnets, haikus, and the like. There are also looser forms--blank verse, free verse, prose poems, and nonce devices. The subject matter is similarly varied, ranging from old age and death to love, nature, family life, and the arts. In one section the poet recalls scenes from his growing up in the Deep South; in another he indulges in verbal riffs and a playful surrealism. The persona in some of the poems is that of a detached observer, presenting ideas at times in a serious manner, at times ironically or satirically; in other pieces the speaker is autobiographical, addressing a loved one or narrating a personal experience; and several poems are in the voices of dramatic characters clearly distinct from the poet. The diversity of form and content just described perhaps sounds more like hopscotch than a disciplined line dance. But taken all together, the collection choreographs the imaginative outlines of one poet's life.