Bill Rector has published a collection of poems simply entitled Bill, but it seems the title has to do with
the capitalistic aspect of the word bill -dollar bill, bill of sale, and "bill me." Rector is also a doctor and
several of his poems reflect on the practice of medicine.
Some of the poems such as "reference room" look like a page of prose and read as such, but on closer observation
the reader sees and hears the rhythm that makes the text eligible for the genre poetry.
One interesting poem "Why Bill has hope," a poem in which Rector ruminates on the slips of paper found in books
from former readers. For example a person-to-person telephone bill to Fresno that had eluded payment for years was
found in the middle of the Odyssey, and Rector gave as much thought to the bill as he did the Homeric epic.
Seldom will you find a collection of poems that deal overtly with the author, but this seems to be the strength
of this pensive collection of poems.
This is a fine collection of thoughts, memories and analyses from a gifted healer and poet.