The metaphysical composure, the simplicity of expression, and the rich austerity of William Bronk's poetry has a power reminiscent of T.S. Eliot, whose ability to reflect on the root questions of our life and civilization he shared. This is poetry that will speak to the prosaic moments of your daily thought, and your sense of reality itself, at the same time. It is poetry that will be read a century from now, and so you should read it now...

Kimmelman's use of an overall presentation of Bronk's "World" in peregrinations both biographical and literary, serves both contemporary theory and literary history in this very readable survey of one of this century's most influential poets and thinkers. I found myself finally liberated, along with Bronk, from the yoke of Stevens' mind-bending alteration of the american poetic topos, free to investigate the strands and filaments of this poet's lexical world with new license. A rewarding journey, despite the fact that the poet's own work might sometimes make us react quite the contrary.

In this collection, American Book Award winner William Bronk write a series of very, very short sharp poems on a variety of subjects. Most of the poems are just two or three lines; a few of them are mildly humorous ("Reality is willing we should think / about it: no harm."). There are moments of striking beauty: "Summer is the deepness of trees." Many of the poems contemplate the meaning of death, and the relationship between man and the deity. These are serious poems, by a poet highly respected if somewhat unknown. While I would not recommend Bronk to anybody just falling in love with poetry, he is a wonderful acquaintance for those who have met the major poets and want a quiet corner to sit in and reflect. Nothing major here, but a nice place to visit.