When: Poems

Wormser's When is an absolutely stunning and wondrous collection. In these poems you will meet unforgettable characters, and experience heart-breaking episodes of life in this late 20th Century. As deeply crafted as they are felt, the poems in When reward rereading without requiring it for understanding. If you teach, use these poems--students respond to them, and they are solid, graceful and worthy models. If you just love poetry, don't waste another day deprived of the excellent company of Baron Wormser's When!

I love this book. I have heard Baron Wormser read twice, which makes it all the better (he's a great guy) and the book is worth it for the last poem alone, A Quiet Life, which is affectionately known as "the egg poem". Everyone needs to read that poem. The rest of his poems are honest and well written, not cloying or in excess. And as for the egg poem, there seems to be some sort of deep, meaningful philosophy portrayed in a few wonderful lines.