Copper Canyon

Alberto Ríos | POETRY,  Jun 01, 2020

Ríos’s poems of memory and aspiration are small masterpieces of clarity and caring, “Hard at the work of being human.” A richly hopeful collection that seems especially vital now. [See “Versifying,” LJ 1/20.]

Victoria Chang | POETRY,  May 01, 2020

John Freeman | POETRY,  May 01, 2020

A fine collection of spare, somber lyrics from an important figure in contemporary writing; with this volume, Freeman steps forward for merited attention as a poet in his own right. [See Barbara Hoffert’s “Versifying,” LJ 1/20.]

James Richardson | POETRY,  May 01, 2020

Traci Brimhall | POETRY,  Apr 01, 2020

Heather McHugh | POETRY,  Apr 01, 2020

In a rich work that embraces life while pushing back on anything that restricts our reach, McHugh again proves herself to be a master poet

Linda Bierds | POETRY,  Sep 27, 2019

Any new collection by Bierds is a blessing, and this one will not disappoint; her sensitive poems about Turing are lessons for aspiring readers or poets on the application of history to the creative impulse and power of poetry to illuminate the past.

Dean Young | POETRY,  Sep 27, 2019

Young’s improvisations are simultaneously hilarious and poignant, revealing a deeply felt humanity and a covert awareness of our shared zeitgeist (“If you didn’t wake up/ screaming, you didn’t wake up”) that cause them to inspire no less than they entertain.

Marianne Boruch | POETRY,  Sep 27, 2019

Throughout, Boruch easily folds storytelling into her poems and makes deep emotional connections, as when Dorothy Wordsworth’s life segues into that of the poet’s grandmother. Repetition is occasionally overused, and the poet loses focus in the long poem “Keats Is Coughing,” which compares visits to Rome and Alaska, but overall this is a collection not to be missed.