Falling to Earth

From the middle ground of middle age, Hansen comes to compromises with existence in this this A. Poulin, Jr., Poetry Prize award-winning volume. Of course, it is not the calculated compromise of politics. Rather, Hansen's compromise is a type of thinking, learning, imbuing a light glow to reflection and surroundings; it is a type of wisdom and way of familiarizing oneself with existence. Oftentimes, the compromise arises from encounters with nature--as in "Garden Plot" when the poet realizes "Our garden is too damn big: a giant plot to get us," and muses that willing the garden to deer and rabbits would be suitable since "we are only migrant workers." Compromise is a proper relationship and temper because one comes "into this world, yet [is] not wholly of it." [from the prose poem "A Little Meditation on a Bubble"] Hansen taught writing and literature at Northern State U. in South Dakota for more than 30 years, and now lives in retirement in the Black Hills.