Poetry. I have been an admirer of David Giannini's work since I first heard him read Antonio and Clara, a moving tribute to his grandparents. While that book invites comparisons, as most good poetry does, THE FUTURE ONLY RATTLES WHEN YOU PICK IT UP is one of a kind. There is nothing like it, and no one's voice or thought is like his. Witty, wise and wonderful, some of these poems are downright hilarious. I won't say which, because it's more fun if you discover them for yourselves. Every once in a while, though, he looks out at us from the page and tells us a bold truth straight on, without humor but with infinite understanding of himself and his place in the world. It isn't until halfway through that we learn where the clever title comes from. I won't spoil it by telling you, except that it's a romantic surprise. My other favorites: 'Maysong Other, ' Parts 1 and 2, 'B.A.D., ' 'Betsy' and the suite of poems for his wife, Pam--especially the 7th, where he says, ... 'we are present to each other the way our talk is the way our talking is a form a form of being of being present of feeling our talk inlaid inlaid with silence ...'. The spaces are deliberate, as they are on his page. Anyone picking up this book, whether it rattles or not, is in for an absorbing, delightful and insightful read.--Irene J. Willis, P