The World in a Minute

Poetry. "Gary Lenhart's THE WORLD IN A MINUTE combines all the best of intellect and heart. This compendium of histories takes in the political, ranging from ancient Rome to the Vietnam war to the present; the personal, which verges on memoir in its reminiscences of his life from its working-class childhood roots; and an intimate look at his relationships in the world of art and literature. Lenhart's talent is in fusing public events and injustices with the day-to-day details of an individual life. Writing in a variety of forms with a sly humor and sophisticated wit, he allows us access to personal revelation at the same time that he gently remains the outsider. Yet, everything in Lenhart's world of the self is informed by the state of flux around him: the brevity and intricacies of life mirrored in the events of friends' lives and the historical and social fabric that knits us together. His love for the lived life of art and contemplation--which takes in the world's chaos--finally determines the subject of this book. Whatever tonal understatement exists here is set against passionate thought, equal parts humor and a wonder undercut by grief, as he reveals our complexities in these fine, distinctive poems"--Cleopatra Mathis.