Recently, my conception of Robert as the original family poet has been challenged. One of my mother's cousins unearthed some poems written by my great-aunt Mary Halperin, who was the sister of Robert's mother Lillie. Mary lived an isolated and poverty-stricken existence in California before World War II, far from her parents and siblings on the East Coast. Her only solace was in writing poetry, where she bared her intense pain and loneliness.
I will end this piece by expressing my gratitude at being a member of a family of poets. I am now reading verse written by my twenty-year-old daughter Lynn and my uncle Edwin Friend, both of whom are talented visual artists as well.
As for me, perhaps I should think about becoming a literary agent.
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