In Praise of Usefulness, Angela Patten's third collection of poetry, finds the expatriate Irish poet once again poised between thoughts of Ireland, the country that engendered her love of language and literature, and America, the country that fostered her development as a woman and a poet. Far from taking a sentimental view of the past, however, these poems take an unflinching look at the challenges involved in relinquishing the sweet assurances of her childhood for the harsher realities of a responsible adult life. With characteristic irony and self-deprecating humor, Patten finds much to praise in everyday life from the ritual of morning coffee to the joys of a hot shower. "What could I do," she asks, "but savor each incalculable drop?"