Hearts and times Book

Talarico, a poet in Rochester, N.Y., here seeks to distill a literary essence from firstperson histories he collected from Americans representing a wide range of geographical and social backgrounds. The verses of these transcribed autobiographical memories, each preceded by a prose summary, typically concern poignant incidents, an important decision in the subject's life, or often a neverbeforerevealed romantic episode. The memory project, ' Talarico explains, is part of the citizens' writing group programs he has organized to foster creative selfexpression among children and elderly alike. Although Talarico often incorporates a verbatim phrase from the subjects' accounts presented to the author or group, the sophistication of his verses tends to overshadow the emotions of the men and women who experienced them.