Description:

In his fifth collection of original poems, the author of Chin Music and Verdigris displays his mastery of form in short works like “Poetry’s Dark Side” and “Form for Fiction,” eleven English sonnets, and an ode to French romantic writer Jacques Prévert. Many delights and surprises await the reader—from a gnome-like remembrance of poet Howard Nemerov to a discovery of the Muse in the routine of domestic life. “On the Inability to Distinguish Child from Fetus”, “What Your Abiding Quest” and “The Difficulty of All Things” display a gift for grasping America’s cultural quandary and the eternal plight of youth. There is something here for every age and taste. This is a poet who finds lyrical majesty and mystery in the commonplace: an elegy for the family dog, the elegant simplicity of “The Girl on the Bicycle” and—not least of all—the stunning universal poem that gives this work its title.