Ranking the Wishes

Not only is Carl Dennis a great poet, he's a great teacher as well. In fact, I took one of his creative writing classes at Buffalo. This series of poems stands by itself for its modesty and simple eloquence. He casts each of his poems in an aura of optimism, despite the tragedies and frustrations. He teaches us to savor the beauty of moments and recollections. My favorite is a meditative poem called "Sarit Narai," where the author remembers an accident at Niagara Falls while taking a stroll, and imagines what could've been. Read this book if you enjoy short stories and vignettes, especially those of Raymond Carver and Andre Dubus. You will be mesmerized by the power of this book.

If you like poetry that doesn't speak in a private hyper-literary language, this is for you. (Even if you do like that other kind, this is a welcome break.) Carl Dennis seems to follow some of the traditions of Raymond Carver in that the poems are almost prose-like in their directness. This helps the poems do what poems should--take everyday occurrences, stories, or emotions, or wishes, and deepen them. These are beautiful.