THE MUSE IN THE BODY

There are unanticipated delights in this intelligently conceived program, tucked among the lotus blossoms and orchids common to "sensual" poetry collections. Anne Sexton delivers two of her poems in a voice as husky and expressive as Jeanne Moreau's. Recorded in the year of her death, these are rare treasures. "skin, Meat, BONES" is a hilarious romp, sung, shouted and growled by its author, Anne Waldman. Alongside the giant shadows of Sappho and Emily Dickinson, some of the other contemporary poets included here seem slight. These readers too often fall into the dreaded declamatory singsong style that alienates the listener rather than elucidates the work. T.M. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: MAR/APR 98]