The Niche Narrows: New and Selected Poems by Samuel Menashe.
Talisman House Books.

There is a strong minimalist tradition in post-modern American poetry, and interestingly enough, three of the strongest practioners of this genre derive their themes, their cadences, their language from Judeo-Christian backgrounds. They are Robert Lax, David Jaffin, and Samuel Menashe. Of the three, Menashe is the most musically subtle, juggling rhyme in his miniatures so that flashes of song accompany the illuminations of the best work. Jaffin is the more cerebral: his rythms depend on the synaptic interplay between the contemplator’ eye, the page, and the concept contemplated, be it opera, 17th century art, or some other object inhabiting his intellectual space. Lax is also musical, but in a slower, more hypnotic, manner. Jaffin I would call a “marginalist”–(see my note elsewhere regarding this form)–Lax an abstractionist, while Menashe retains his focus on the telling detail, no matter how tight the frame in which he works.

I’ll include two of my favorites:

Dominion

Stare at the sea
you on your chair
sinking in sand,
Command the waves
to stand like cliffs,
Lift up your hand.

This deceptively simple poem is underpinned by a constellation of Biblical references. See how many you can find!

Also, what appears to be Menashe’s motto:

A-
round
my neck
an amu-
let
Be-
tween
my eyes
a star
A
ring
in my
nose
and a
gold
chain
to
Keep me
where
You
are
*

The design of Ed Foster’s Talisman House edition is superb. Type-set and paper make this a lovely book to own, and the price is just right!