Etching the Ghost

Poet and painter Cathleen Cohen artfully paints a compelling sequence of scenes and portraits encompassing joy, freedom, violence, trauma, and the challenge of facing mortality: one's own as well as that of lost or faltering beloveds. In Cohen's skillful hands, poems become an occasion for questioning - "How long will we last / as witness, as echo?" - and for cherishing what the speaker tries to "... hold then release / into brushstrokes." Cohen vividly depicts a search for healing and whol...