"Don't tell me trees don't talk" and other poems

the long version

The poems in "Don't Tell Me Trees Don't Talk" and Other Poems play a dual role. On the one hand, they are regional - Western and Montana settings figure in them prominently - but they are at the same time cosmopolitan. Geographically, they deal with subjects from Europe to the South Pacific. As for time, they range from 60 years of the author's life to 150 years of history. The mood of the poems ranges from the skeptical to the wry, from the serious to the exultant, from the angry to the humorous and tender. The tension between the dark and the hopeful provides dramatic interest, and the placement of a nonreligious but ethnic Jewish American in Montana helps to furnish unique interest. For the remainder, they provide a flexible style of varied voices.