Good prose on poems

Today's NY Times Book Review has a rarity: a good piece of writing about a book of poems. It's Dan Chiasson's review of W.S. Merwin's new and selected, "Migration." Chiasson is a hell of a poet in his own right; his first book, "The Afterlife of Objects," is sad, eloquent, and energetic, and one of my favorite books of the past few years. According to the bio in the NYTBR, his new book, "Natural History," will be out in October. The two titles suggest a theme, I think.

I liked Chiasson's review for two reasons: the writing is clear and specific (no elliptical albums here), and the author resists the urge to either lay laurels at the feet of one of the big shots of American poetry or lampoon him as a self-serious dinosaur. Instead Chiasson charts Merwin's growth as a poet, noting dominant thematic and formal elements and periods of the poet's strongest and weakest work. The review also offers useful insight, both positive and negative, on Merwin's trademark unpunctuated line. I recommend.

Cheers.