“The profound way Barkan articulates constant desire to return home and to bring his readers home by merging them into his own extended and extensive family makes Mishpocheh surely one of the most remarkable poetry collections to be released in the early twenty-first century. The volume’s uniqueness is also emphasized by Bebe Barkan´s colorful paintings–mostly of her family members and her husband’s (including Grandma Celia). Like much of the artwork included in Cross-Cultural Communication’s books, her paintings are warm and colorful, and easily evoke the humanity and individuality of her subjects. Done in a style reminiscent of French Impressionism and American primitive folk art of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, they enhance and personalize her husband’s words, just as his poems ground her pictures in context–in words and memory. Indeed, one of the best features in this flawless publication is the sense of genuine collaboration between husband and wife. Mishpocheh is a complex and captivating poetry collection which deserves to be read time and time again, in hopes that it may help the reader understand and appreciate his or her own mishpocheh a little more. Indeed, a simple review cannot possibly do it justice. One walks away after having read it with a deeper understanding of what it means to be human, to be a finite being who ultimately survives only in the memories of loved ones.” —JoSELLE VANDERHOOFT Author of Desert Songs From a review in The Pedestal Magazine (#31, Dec 2005-Feb 2006)

Poetry & Art, Family, Memoir, Jewish, Limited Edition