ADULT LANGUAGE WARNING William Robertson London (Ont.), Brick Books, 1991. 76pp, paper, $9.95 ISBN 0-919626-52-1. CIP Grades 12 and up/Ages 17 and up Reviewed by Robert Lincoln Volume 20 Number 1 1992 January The title of William Robertson's second book of poetry is deliberately provocative. There are some coarse words here and there, but the title carries a second meaning. The book is a reflective collection of poems whose subjects bridge the line between the adult and the younger person. Roberston does not want to hide his feelings from his children or the reader; he wants to explore and share them. There is often an interplay between the knowledge learned in one's youth and that encountered later. There are poems that discuss sex, but it is cerebral and wistful rather than graphic. In the poem "This is a Night for Love" Roberston successfully turns the focus from a group of partying adolescents to an older couple across the street, who, ironically, may be engaging in what the teenagers can only hope to do. The section of poems entitled "Gamblers" gives insight into Robertson's style and beliefs. A group of poems is returned by mail because they aren't personal enough. The poet realizes they aren't filled with graphic details. Robertson reacts to this with humour and grace: ...not enough blood, piss, and balls... How to open parts of my life kept closed for so long and then he drops an aside: write about my wife's thighs, she'll say why do you think I wear clothes? There are poems that evoke images of Repulse Bay, the Yukon, California and Japan. At other times Robertson enters the world of a seventh-grader in "One of the Laws of Love." Robertson is also concerned with the process of poetry and language, and how individu­als communicate. His experiences in Japan have perhaps contributed to his understated style and his penchant for detached commentary. Robert Lincoln, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man.