Duo Poemata

Jack Foley wrote of the two poems in this book: "Their vast reach and their vast reading include the Classics and the realm of Pound's Cantos, where the dead and the living mingle. James Joyce's "nighttown" is here as well, and we feel the constant presence of the author's identical twin, José (1939-2011). These poems are not for the faint of feeling or the faint of intellect, but they are for those who value poetry, literature, the world." He illustrates his point with these four lines from Ivan's book: "women skilled in weaving and ornamentation you shall have/ to accompany you to the other earth and to hold in your hand/ a distaff and by your side a harp to sing the lonely nights/ in the labyrinth of sleep..."