This collection of poems by Robin Becker is truly wonderful. Her poems range from funny and ironic, to deeply moving, to acute (if sometime oblique) social critique. Her topics range over a wide range of concerns (as noted in the description above), but she is a poet, plain and simple, not a lesbian poet, Jewish poet, and so on. Her insights are her own, from her own specific perspective.

To me, the most amazing thing about this collection is the high level of quality maintained throughout. While not every poem is a "home run," there are not fly balls or grounders either: none of the filler stuff that is all too prevalent in books by established poets.

I read a considerable amount of contemporary poetry, but I only discovered Robin Becker during the last year. I was amazed by her poems. This is a poet who is struggling to write about whatever glimpses of truth she can find, not settling for easy answers or arresting, but ultimately hollow, metaphors or symbols. Additionally, one must consider that many gay or lesbian poets either seem to write primarily about their sexuality, or they attempt to keep that autobiographical fact out of their books (for fear of being cast by readers as being solely a "gay poet.") Even in the literary world, I think that ambiguity makes many readers nervous. Any poet facing the decision about whether to reveal his or her homosexuality in print knows (and quite possibly fears) being pigeonholed because of sexual orientation. Becker's work is ambiguous (or, more clearly, complex) only in that she chooses to focus on many different subjects, with her lesbianism being one of many subjects from which she gleans meaning. Thus, she cannot be categorized neatly. For any poet, such uniqueness is almost always a compliment, and it definitely is one in her case. I read all of Robin Becker's books this summer, and each (with the exception of her first collection, included in *Personal Effects*) had at least a few poems that were amazing and will remain in my memory forever. However, if I had to choose a favorite book, I would pick this one. The sheer quantity of highly successful poems in this collection makes reading *All-American Girl* a very rewarding experience.

Robin Becker writes about being a woman, feminist and a Jew using the historical personas of painters Rosa Bonheur and Charlotte Solomon. As always, Becker writes from her own point of view in a way that speaks to all of us about love, frienship and family. A wonderful addition to her ouvre!