Earthly Measures: Poems

Few contemporary poets have been able to eloquently address the wasting of the earth or the commitment to universals as well as Edward Hirsch. His subject matter ranges vastly from the vantage of the American Midwest to the Arcadian visions of the European landscape. His poems are easily read but are slow to absorb and keep in the brain. But with the current global negligence of respect for the planet, reading Edward Hirsch brings back the sanctity of being. Yes, in this collection of his works he addresses the nightmare of abandonment and decay, continuing themes that have accompanied his poems since he first began writing. But somehow his poems in reference to Henry James, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the school of Luminist artists, the character of Orpheus, etc bring us into his realm of knowledge, a journey that only serves to nudge us back to literature and art and things that live and sustain. Edward Hirsch is a brilliant poet, one whose name belongs in the highest echelon of American poets. For those unfamiliar with his work this small but exceedingly powerful volume of thirty-seven poems is as fine an introduction as any. Recommended. Grady Harp, February 06