Poetry and About Poetry

My poetry & that of other poets in Heron Tree now available in a print collection.

My poetry & that of other poets in Heron Tree now available in a print collection.

My poetry & that of other poets in Heron Tree now available in a print collection.

The Beauty: Poems by Jane Hirshfield My rating: 4 of 5 stars Jane Hirshfield never disappoints—although the poems in the first and last sections were the strongest. The entire collection exudes a Zen influence, using nature and the commonplace to find an emotional and spiritual resignation or reconciliation with the Way of the world. View all my reviews

Empty Sink Publishing  has accepted two of my poems. "Anticipating a continuance" and "Chess Plays the Exile" will be published in August in their e-journal. 

The Beauty: Poems by Jane Hirshfield My rating: 4 of 5 stars Jane Hirshfield never disappoints---although the poems in the first and last sections were the strongest. The entire collection exudes a Zen influence, using nature and the commonplace to find an emotional and spiritual resignation or reconciliation with the Way of the world. View all my reviews

Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry by Jane Hirshfield My rating: 5 of 5 stars Jane Hirshfield is not just one of the finest poets writing today, she is also one of the best writers about the craft and art of poetry and its place in our contemporary world. This collection of essays is not just for the student of poetry but for anyone who cares about language and the need for art to make us wholly human. View all my reviews

Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry by Jane Hirshfield My rating: 5 of 5 stars Jane Hirshfield is not just one of the finest poets writing today, she is also one of the best writers about the craft and art of poetry and its place in our contemporary world. This collection of essays is not just for the student of poetry but for anyone who cares about language and the need for art to make us wholly human. View all my reviews

Rust and Moth will publish my poem “Transit” both online and in their Winter 2015 print edition. http://rustandmoth.com/

Rust and Moth will publish my poem "Transit" both online and in their Winter 2015 print edition. http://rustandmoth.com/

“…good poetry carries broad information within brief speech.” Jane Hirshfield

Vine Leaves Literary Journal has accepted my poem “Taconic Orogeny” for publication in its October issue.

Vine Leaves Literary Journal has accepted my poem "Taconic Orogeny" for publication in its October issue.

Vine Leaves Literary Journal has accepted my poem “Taconic Orogeny” for publication in its October issue.

A Several World by Brian Blanchfield My rating: 3 of 5 stars When you try to condense your critical opinion of a collection of poems to a number of stars, you realize the inadequacy of ratings. I admire much of Brian Blanchfield’s ambitious and generous collection. He has a gift of the short and pungent phrase, epigrammatic without being obvious. His language has echoes of the lusciousness of Wallace Stevens and the obscure juxtaposition of John Ashberry. Blanchfield interplays the grammatical, the etymological, and the personal in interesting ways. But when I am done, and I ask if I willread it again, I must admit that the answer is probably no. I admire the effort and often the craft. But I am left cold and oddly noncurious. Perhaps it is my failure as a reader. Perhaps the work in the end fails to “separate from the rummage.” View all my reviews

A Several World by Brian Blanchfield My rating: 3 of 5 stars When you try to condense your critical opinion of a collection of poems to a number of stars, you realize the inadequacy of ratings. I admire much of Brian Blanchfield's ambitious and generous collection. He has a gift of the short and pungent phrase, epigrammatic without being obvious. His language has echoes of the lusciousness of Wallace Stevens and the obscure juxtaposition of John Ashberry. Blanchfield interplays the grammatical, the etymological, and the personal in interesting ways. But when I am done, and I ask if I willread it again, I must admit that the answer is probably no. I admire the effort and often the craft. But I am left cold and oddly noncurious. Perhaps it is my failure as a reader. Perhaps the work in the end fails to "separate from the rummage." View all my reviews

Allegro Poetry Magazine has accepted another of my poems for their March 2016 issue. http://allegropoetry.org /

Allegro Poetry Magazine has accepted another of my poems for their March 2016 issue. http://allegropoetry.org /

Splitting and Binding by Pattiann Rogers My rating: 4 of 5 stars Pattiann Rogers is that rare poet who writes with the lyrical love of nature that Wordsworth had but without any false sentimentality. Instead, she brings the eye of the scientist together with the heart of the naturalist. She is unafraid to face the harsh reality of life and death in her own existence or in the natural or human world around her. This mid-career collection shows Rogers at her best. View all my reviews

Splitting and Binding by Pattiann Rogers My rating: 4 of 5 stars Pattiann Rogers is that rare poet who writes with the lyrical love of nature that Wordsworth had but without any false sentimentality. Instead, she brings the eye of the scientist together with the heart of the naturalist. She is unafraid to face the harsh reality of life and death in her own existence or in the natural or human world around her. This mid-career collection shows Rogers at her best. View all my reviews