Things in My Backyard by Melissa G. Criscuolo

“Things in My Backyard” is a book of recollections. These poems yield a record of small disasters: the voice of a woman filled with “such pity, such emptiness;” Mondays, “because my therapy appointments are always on Mondays,” and Florida hurricanes that leave “everything stained by the memory of water.” The book is also filled with triumph: small wonders found in the beauty of watching a mallard swimming in a pond, or “curly / tailed lizards” in one’s backyard. Melissa Garcia Criscuolo‘s poetry is a joy to read.

–Leah Maines

Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]

“Melissa Garcia Criscuolo’s affectionate attention to her subjects—her family, her Tia One in particular, her friends, and, above all, her Florida in its many sensual and avian manifestations—is communicated in poems that speak fluently in two languages, English and Spanish, which she moves between with the greatest of ease. One comes away from reading these poems with a great affection for their author and her open heart, and with fresh and vibrant reflections on the people, birds, and flora that enrich her corner of the state.”

–Sidney Wade

Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]