Leaning

Bodies leaning toward one another are engaged, developing the potential for long-lasting, meaningful relationships. In this work, Pelias (speech communications, Southern Illinois U.-Carbondale) employs 'leaning' as a metaphor for exploring the physical space of relationships, using tools such as personal narrative, poetic inquiry, autoethnography, and performative writing. Themes include the expectations of masculinity and the care and danger in holding and letting go of friends, lovers, and family members. Some specific areas explored are Stephen Dunn and the poetics of living, reading Barthes as a lover, and a personal history of lust on Bourbon Street. The author suggests that the book might be used as a supplementary text in a typical course in interpersonal communication, or as a series of methodological examples illustrating qualitative research methods in action. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)