Curves and Angles

This may be Brad Leithauser's best book. Devoted to exquisite detail, liquidity and architecture, these poems unveil a poetic talent that has matured in similar ways to the development of the great painter, Edward Hopper. In the end, Hopper became an artist of sharp angles and unforgiving light. As a mature artist, Hopper painted pictures the way Clint Eastwood now makes movies. It seems to me that Leithauser is doing the same thing, but in poetry. It is an exciting project to watch. This poet's well traveled attention to the glorious world we share entertains and enlightens us. I adore his scuba diver, his cloistered city lovers, his aging cohorts wondering what is was all about and why it must end. As always, Leithauser is good company, a reliable fellow traveler capable of surprising you just when you need it most. --Robert McDowell is the author of a book on poetry in spiritual practice due out later this year.