Gives the feel of a fire outside at night — something warm and smoldering in the cold, something flaming, and temporary in its burn ... These are physical poems, attuned to natural rhythms and those rhythms’ effects on spirit and body both ... Quiet wisdom, which is the best kind of wisdom, live in his lines.
Ranges widely in style and subject matter ... Culver has more to offer than standard pastoral fare. Elegy is one of the book's modes, and the poet writes movingly of his parents ... Culver occasionally indulges in eye-rolling braggadocio ... These cringe-inducing moments may generate doubt whenever Culver invites the reader to consider his declarations profound, which is often. In 'Resolute,' for example, the author's advice sounds more pompous than sage ... The subject of sex has become a strange fixation for the author, resulting in convoluted personal references that are difficult to track.
Explores the ordinary from an extraordinary angle in which light and shadow alternate in a multifaceted vision ... The conventional becomes lively, an epiphany of sorts that conveys vitality. In this way the ordinary becomes mythical ... Culver’s voice delves into these themes, transforming common people and everyday events from a universal perspective ... Culver is...committed to the unspeakable, a mysterious reality that he voices in riveting lines and insightful descriptions.
Culver’s collection presents a quiet symphony of imagery ... His poetry is satisfyingly elemental; natural forces blend with the movement of one’s mind ... A sensual earthiness permeates many poems, and Culver is confident as he expresses his ideas economically without losing their potency ... Readers will feel the power of the poet’s succinct use of image and metaphor. A powerful collection of contemporary poetry that’s both carnal and full of regret.
Striking ... Looks back and forward at once and engages with moments and rites of passage that endure from one generation to the next, always pinning down, with rare precision of language, fresh insight and feeling ... With clarity and power, Culver identifies, interrogates, and fully stirs in his readers the complex feelings both children and parents all eventually encounter, always in resonant, accessible, unpredictable verse that emphasizes meticulous observation.
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