Reviewed in Tulsa World

December 5 , 2004

I just had to include a book of poetry to round out this year’s list. It was a difficult decision, but this jewel by Iowa poet Dan Lechay deserves widespread recognition.

Maybe it’s because the poems speak to the everyday occurrences and details of life in small Midwestern towns or cities that make it so attractive to me.

Maybe it’s because his work reminds me of such accomplished poets as Robert Bly, James Wright, and especially the just appointed Poet Laureate of the U.S., Ted Kooser, which caused me to read this wonderful vision of the American Midwest that will be familiar to every reader.

The book was the winner of the 2003 Hollis Summers Poetry Prize and the comments of judge Alan Shapiro eloquently tell it all: “Under Lechay’s soulful gaze, the backyards, neighborhoods, animals and landscape he describes dramatize the often wrenching connection between beauty and loss, evanescence and memory...a thoroughly mature and accomplished book.” A delightful, memorable read.

Tulsa World
"Holiday Books List"
December 5, 2004