Collected Poems, 1951-1971

People rarely read poetry these days. It is a shame considering that poets like Ammons are out there. Ammons possesses a knack with detail and can make anything spring to life. Consider 'Catalyst'. 'Honor the maggot/ Supreme catalyst/ he spurs the rate of change/ (all scavengers are honorable/ I love them all/ will scribble hard as I can for them'. Only Ammons can write a poem in praise of a maggot and have the reader ready to shout 'Yay, maggots!' by the end. Ammons also has an impressive ability to turn a phrase, such as 'and the wind whipped my throat/ gaming for the sounds of my voice.' Another one of the elements of Ammons poetry is his humor. 'As soon as you stop having trouble getting down to earth you start having trouble getting off the ground.' read one of his shortest poems. 'I Went Out to The Sun' is another great example of humor. 'The moon has been talking about you/ well what is it this time?/ she says it's her own light' I won't lie to you, though. It does drags in parts. Ammons scientific knowledge and his use of technical, while it does provide a certain richness, can get in the way. Another problem is the length of some of the poems included. This is a personal bias, but I HATE long poems. Ammons more than makes up for it, however. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.