Jonathan Galassi Reads from Left-Handed: Poems

Left-handed, a new book of poems by Jonathan Galassi, chronicles in three sections the painful yet liberating transformation the poet underwent when he discovered, as a married, middle-aged man, that he was gay. In the first part, he grapples with growing older and its attendant regrets; the second section concerns an unrequited love for a younger man; and the final third is devoted to describing a new life and love. Together the poems narrate, in language both elegant and emotionally revealing, his thoughtful journey to the wisdom of desire. Galassi, in addition to being a poet, is the president of Farrar, Straus and Giroux as well as the translator of Eugenio Montale's and Giacomo Leopard's poetry. "Galassi's verses can be pithy and playful, and it's a joy to watch the flame light so blue and so high for love in these poems." --Interview magazine