“A collection of poems about lonely lemons, elephants, grievances, cracked walls, insects, ghosts, peach pie and invisible survivors. Barry Wallenstein has a wonderful interest in the poetically sharpening the details of his real and imaginary encounters.” 

- Jayne Cortez

Excerpt  from a review published in the Woodstock Times

Barry Wallenstein, whose new book is A Measure of Conduct,  is a guide who shows us things of the world around him and talks about them.  He likes to say, “here’s what is, and here’s what’s important about it,” and he finds engaging ways of doing it…. He also provides a world that's not there—a deer without a meadow without the deer; a jungle beast that doesn't show up, although he leaves traces of how he might have; the creatures of a puppet master who may have had an existence prior to the one the puppet master gave them, but they can’t be sure. These worlds, fittingly, are given to us with very little comment, and little is needed.