Kate Baer (What Kind of Woman; And Yet) celebrates the mundane and the miraculous in How About Now, her fourth collection of poetry. As in her past collections, she explores the ups and downs, joys and sorrows of modern womanhood. After all, she writes, "We can't avoid it:/ mothers, death, and poetry."
Reading these poems is like going to a wise older sister for advice and receiving guidance on how to pay attention to what matters most. When Baer's children call her out on her mistakes, she reminds them it's her "first rodeo," too. "My therapist asks/ if I'm going to make this/ into another poem," she notes while recalling the particular desperation of pelvic floor therapy after childbirth; if poetry is there, poetry is everywhere. An imaginary toast to a bride from her bridesmaid offers a poignant reflection on female friendship: "It's/ true there is a cost to this devotion,/ but I'll let you in on a little secret:/ there is very little women choose/ to keep from one another. How/ lucky we are to know a love like this."
How About Now honors exactly that kind of love, love that holds within it both immeasurable happiness and impossible pain. "What a privilege to... revel in the reminder that no matter its failing,/ there is something to be gained from the celebration/ of a tender and ordinary love." In each poem, Baer revels in these failings and celebrations, the tender and the ordinary. Individually, these poems recognize the complexities of daily life; as a collection, How About Now invites reflection on what makes that life worth living. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer