In his book "Say Goodnight," poet Timothy Liu writes "What is touched by loss / is sometimes made more sacred" (from the poem "That Summer"). Liu is adept at finding the intersection of the sacred, the political, and the sexual, and this 100-page collection of poems is a remarkable exercise of his voice.

Many of the poems in this book deal with death or other types of loss. He often uses religious imagery and allusions, and much of the book deals with gay male sexuality. There is a strong political flavor to much of this book, more so than in his collection "Burnt Offerings."

Some of the poems that made the biggest impact on me are as follows:

"The Prodigal Son Writes Home," a very in-your-face poem that marries graphic gay sex to religious imagery; "Power," a meditation on society's fixation with the male sexual organ (it opens "Half the penis remains / from a man whose dong had been bitten off / by a dog"); "Billions Served," a grisly poem about the inhumanity of the meat industry; "Oasis," an ironic poem that takes place at the Walt Whitman Service Area, "off the Jersey Pike" (Whitman is also invoked in Liu's collection "Burnt Offerings"); "The Rand MaNally Road Atlas," a humorous haiku with a homoerotic theme; "The Presence of Absence in a Midwest Town," about hate crime and censorship in America; and "Against Nature," a disturbing reflection on scientific inquiry into homosexuality.

Throughout the book Liu demonstrates his keen eye for sensory detail: he notices "dry kelp flaking off our soles like bits / of burnt confetti" (from "North Truro"), or the way "pigeons crown a stone Madonna smeared / with excrement" (from the multipart poem "A Baedeker"). For me, "Say Goodnight" confirms Liu's stature as an amazing contemporary poet.

From its simple, opening strands, Liu's collection moves like a lonely, rainy car ride. Every poem unearths vibrant images & the alienation of homosexuality with such verve & honesty. I feel very fortunate to come across his work. A real joy to read.

The poems in Say Goodnight are clear, brave, and true. They affect the reader like ice falling from a great height, leaving one startled with the force of its brutality and beauty. Timothy Liu is one of our best poets, and with this book, one does not want to say goodnight at all.

Written by Timothy Liu, editor of "Word of Mouth: An Anthology of Gay American Poetry", Hard Evidence is a unique and original collection of free-form verse concerning such matters as finding manifestations of holiness in earthly things, gay sexuality, and the cruel legacy of the virus that causes AIDS. Hard evidence is eye-opening, thought-provoking poetry that flows from page to page, almost as if all part of one grand poem. Binoculars left in the backseat/of your car. Tread marks leading/to a flattened toad with flies/crawling over it. Those pagodas/in the distance somehow made/a difference - joss sticks stuck/in giant urns burnishing in the air.

Webster's says "poetry" is concentrated imaginative language. And "gay" would relate to minority-group experience? I don't see very much high poetic quality here, nor explicit references to gay perspectives (not just sexuality, but "diversity" of viewpoints).

Oh, some are good. John Weiners' confessionals. Dan Bellm's "Boy Wearing A Dress" on gender-identity. James Schuyler's chatty "Who Is Nancy Daum" is a bracelet of imagery-stones. Wayne Koestenbaum's campily-operatic intonations.

But too many times (to use an analogy) it's a flatland of prose, lacking poetic mountain-vistas. Like Frank O'Hara: "Lana Turner has collapsed!...I have been to lots of parties / and acted perfectly disgraceful / but I never actually collapsed / oh Lana Turner we love you get up." Like Taylor Mead: "I came pretty close to / upchuking [sic], Chuck." Like Jack Anderson's "Partial Index to Myself": "B Bach ballet bark worse than a bite bed befuddlement birthdays." Like too many more.

Nor does the anthology show gay presence, experience, response. Editor Liu says, "I still question the notion of a 'gay sensibility.'" He was "simply interested in documenting a particular and peculiar time in contemporary American poetry, turf notwithstanding."

Fine, but why, plus why call it gay? I wandered through pages of non-gay scenes--like walking through fields without a "hint of mint" (to use an analogy plus an allusion). Too bad: minority poetry (Blacks, Native Americans, etc.) can give the "outsider" vision. And the selections from Dennis Cooper, Thom Gunn, Edward Field, and Frank O'Hara are not the memorable gay-imbued visions I recall.

What went wrong, if it did? Editor Liu seems underinvolved in the project. Talisman House approached him "to edit an anthology." And "after some thought I decided that an anthology of gay American poetry would best suit my energies." Not the decades-long project which Gavin Dillard claimed was his anthology A DAY FOR A LAY.

Good-quality gay poetry does exist. But artistic excellence is often eclipsed today by either political "relevance" (which seriously damaged the Larkin and Morse anthology GAY AND LESBIAN POETRY IN OUR TIME) or flat-prose conversation chopped up into lines and masquing as poetry. Still, do visit Liu's garden for the few but definite poetic and gay-blooming flowers which do grow there....

To answer the other New Orleanian's question: D.A. Powell is an incredible young poet, An Iowa graduate, who has published two books of which i know, Tea, and his new one, Lunch, which isn't as good over all but which contains probably my two favorite poems of his, "[My father and me in hollywood, fading and rising starlettes]" and another about his father which ends with a reference to Gone with the Wind. He's one of the highlights of the anthology and everyone should check him out!

No self respecting gay poet would have signed off on being enclosed in a bland white! cover. The anthology itself is excellent, of course not all the up and coming legendary current poets are here. Seems it is true one only sees who one sees. And to answer the previous reviewers questions regarding the inclusion of Miss Doty in another anthology: he is needed in order to elevate the status of the current lesser knowns, a basic law of signature.

Kiss Kiss Rachel Tensions

I first encountered one of Timothy Liu's poems in an anthology, and was impressed enough to seek out further work of his. "Burnt Offerings" is a collection of his poetry. A significant part of the book reflects a gay Asian male perspective. There are a number of religious references and allusions, and a number of graphic evocations of gay sex.

The book is dominated by two longer poems, "With Chaos in Each Kiss" (13 pages long) and "Naked" (10 pages); these are tender, sad poems about the aftermath of a relationship between the speaker and a musician. I was intrigued by Liu's yoking of the motifs of performing arts and love. These two poems really read like they were written by someone who has been there and experienced such love and loss.

... Also noteworthy is "The Size of It," a poem about body image, homosexuality, and Asian male identity; this poem has a flavor of painful honesty.

Even when at his most graphic and in-your-face, Liu writes with a poetic voice that is appealingly tender and gentle. I love his line, "Only love can make us visible" (from "With Chaos in Each Kiss"). Liu is definitely a poet worth exploring, and his work is a valuable contribution to American poetry, gay literature, and Asian-American literature. For an interesting complementary text, try Allen Ginsberg's "Cosmopolitan Greetings."

This is a collection of gay and lesbian Asian-American fiction. Whereas "Q&A" and Russell Leong's book have already opened the doors for gay Asian-Am non-fiction, there are still too few venues for the fictional counterpart. This anthology fills that void. Proof of its worth is that many of these writers have gone on to have whole novels published. Despite the need for this book, I see problems. It has this boring cover that automatically makes the book look used. I don't know if the publishing company has limited resources or if they want readers of all races and sexualities to not be turned off by the book or what. But the drab cover made me think it would contain drab writing. The editors have a 1.5 paged intro which proves they hardly had any vision for this book. The book is littered with photography and art that is not interesting in the slightest. The table of contents is confusing. There's just little here that would make me sit down and read this rather large book. My copy is gonna become as second-hand as it already looked the first day I bought it.