Henry Taylor (2) (1942–2024)

Henry Taylor writes of his family and his own biography in close connection with the land and its geologic and human history. As some have noted, these poems certainly seem influenced by Frost and echo Wendell Berry. Sometimes the "blank verse" becomes a bit too prosy for me, but the emotion and subtle imagery is never prosaic.

"He came here, had his life, and as his last strength goes,
the little branch keeps washing over algae-laden stones."

How simply to tell the story of our mortality and show more of the near immortality of the flowing of the natural world around us. show less

That anyone would give this amazing, Pulitzer Prize winning collection a 1-star rating boggles my mind. This is a powerful and haunting collection of poetry that begs to be read aloud.

Mildly humorous and occasionally witty.