The mother-daughter bonding is unique -almost all mothers and daughters will vouch for it. And, when its time for the daughter to be a mother this relationship is stronger than ever. For, who can be a better guide than one' s own mother to help through the initial difficult days.

'A Special Delivery' chronicles the birth of a "special" granddaughter through letters exchanged between a mother and daughter. Apart from the normal motherly concerns of a special vitamin-supplemented diet and the like for an expectant daughter, the letters also reflect on a parent coming to grips with the fact that her child will be a "single mom in a foreign country" as her relationship with a "fisherman" who also "buys cars at auctions, fixes them and sells them" is that of a live-in one.

"Elizabeth, not marrying when you're pregnant, for what-ever reason, is very different in your own country, where you have family and government to protect you if there are times when you can't provide for yourself or the baby".

The letters, as expected jump from topic to topic --each voicing her views on the institution of marriage, delivery with the help of experienced midwives and of course the mother's own experiences during her pregnancy. These simple, interesting epistles also recreate the joy of a loving family --the fact that the parents are divorced does not quite matter for the couple still discuss their problems ...at least those pertaining to their children, as also on the world of friendship.

So, as the letters from an idyllic corner in New Zealand where the sun and the rain and the sea whip up a symphony of joy for the expected -- "It is another glorious day here at Little Bay! The sun is streaming through the window, the birds are singing, and the waves are lapping against the shore." --- and bring moments of concern for the mother as she rushes on with her life in New York city and Vermont, they provide wonderful insights into a cherished relationship --the essence of a good, happy family.

Writes the mother on March 9:
Next, is that "beautiful man" -- in the attitude and looks -- that "gentle, sweet Jimi" -- also beautifully responsible? Would he want the mother of his child to be without citizenship (and medical benefits, if needed) in his own country? Would he want his child to have just one legal parent, when a child so craves for two -- even as an infant? Would he expect the mother of his child to be a foreigner -- without the safety net of support from the government if there were a special need for the child? Or mother? Is he committed to mother and child? Speaking of a marriage of convenience (as you did last year when we discussed New Zealand residency), marriage doesn't get any more convenient than for a father to marry the mother of his child! Wouldn't he want to be family to the mother of his child -- given that her family wouldn't be able to: (1) see her pregnant, (2) be at the birth, (3) watch a new life grow first hand?

Replies the daughter on March 23:
So -- marriage, eh? This is my outlook on it. I don't believe that I need a piece of paper to prove my love to someone. I can see I have a spiritual ceremony with friends and family to show our love and commitment to one another -- but not in a church and not with a minister. Nature is my church -- Mother Earth. I would have a big circle of our loved ones holding hands with us in the middle. We would perhaps exchange words to explain our love for one another. It would be in a meaningful spot in nature, outside, and on a new moon b4ecause that is a time for new beginnings. But as far as getting married into the system -- that has no meaning for me. Unless I need to do so for immigration or legal purposes -- then I would get married, but it would not have any kind of meaning or significance to me other than the legal purposes. I hope that this makes sense to you.

Edward Hirsch's primer may very well inspire readers to catch the next flight for Houston and sign up for any and all of his courses. Not for nothing does this attentive and adoring poet-teacher title his book How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry; Hirsch's big guide to getting the most out of this form is packed with inspiring examples and thousands of epigrams and allusions. Above all, he is intent on poetry's physical and emotional power. In chapters devoted to the lyric, the narrative, the poetry of sorrow, of ecstasy, of witness, Hirsch continually conveys the sheer ecstasy of this vital act of communication. (He takes us, for instance, with great care and mounting excitement, through Emily Brontë's "Spellbound," which he discovered at age 8 when "baseball season was over for the year.") Above all, there is the thrill of discovery as Hirsch offers up works by artists ranging from Anna Akhmatova to Walt Whitman, Elizabeth Bishop to Adam Zagajewski, and everyone in between. I defy you not to fall in love with Wislawa Szymborska on the basis of "The Joy of Writing," which begins:

Why does this written doe bound through these written woods? For a drink of written water from a spring whose surface will xerox her soft muzzle? Why does she lift her head; does she hear something? Perched on four slim legs borrowed from the truth, she pricks up her ears beneath my fingertips.

Elsewhere, Hirsch's section on Sterling Brown's redefinitions of African American work songs should put this neglected poet back on the map. And his introductions to Eastern European poets such as Jirí Orten, Attila József, and Miklós Radnóti will make you want to ferret out their hard-to-find work. (Perhaps his publisher should put out a companion anthology...)

Hirsch manages to cram entire worlds and lives into 258 pages of text (which he follows up with a huge glossary and extended reading list). His two paragraphs on Juan Gelman, whose son was murdered and pregnant daughter-in-law disappeared during Argentina's "Dirty War," bring this man's art into clear, tragic focus. But even here, the compulsively generous author is compelled to enshrine the words of other critics, foregrounding Eduardo Galeano and Julio Cortázar, who describes Gelman's art as "a permanent caress of words on unknown tombs." What a pleasure it is to be inside Hirsch's head! He seems to have read everything and absorbed most of it, and he wears his considerable scholarship lightly. Many of his fellow poets have suffered for their art, have been imprisoned and killed--but above all, Hirsch makes us realise that, no matter what the artist's circumstances, subject, or theme, "the stakes are always high" in this game that writer and reader alike must keep playing. © Amazon.com