Show and Tell: New and Selected Poems Volume 2

I often cuss the current crop of poets. Many of them seem to be self-infatuated blowhards who are writing in some kind of inbred code that will allow them to congradulate each other on how wise they are. Unless you have an alphabet soup of degrees behind your name, as most of us don't, you can't grasp a blessed word being said.Daniels, who worked in a Detroit auto plant to pay his way through graduate school, doesn't seem that way at all. His work, though deep, is accessible,and his use of language is down-to-earth. This is something I really admire in a poet-when he writes not to be studied, but to be read.His inspiration comes from a myriad of sources. His troubled religious faith, his family, his years in the factory followed by years in academia, even the music of the J. Geils Band all provide fodder for him. This book is a synopsis of Daniels' poetic career, allowing us to see him at all phases of his artistic development, and it's all a pleasure to be seen.The poems even have different structures. Some rhyme, some don't. Some, like "Time, Temperature," are long and meaty, while others, like "The Fall," are quick and concise. None of them slack, no matter what their length, and all are pleasing for a broad cross-section of the reading public to consume.Despite his luminous c.v., Daniels is a poet of the people, a creator of work that cries out to be read. If you love poetry, grab this book quickly. Even if you don't love poetry, this book will be a worthy investment. Read it often and enjoy!

Come on people! I--devotee of Whitman, Stevens, Hart Crane, Kenneth Fearing--have looked high and low for great living American poets. Jim Daniels is definitely one. Daniels is remarkably hard hitting, funny, empathetic. He writes about work, race, religion and family. But it is his craft--music and imagery--that separate him from the pack. This book, unlike most contemporary poetry books, will stay with you after you close the covers. So buy it.