Octavio Solis’s Reviews > Splitting an Order > Status Update

Simple unadorned poetry of the common life. Easy to be fooled by its generous warmth. But don’t dismiss these poems. Mr. Kooser’s prodigious power to observe and transform snapshots of people and things into holy moments is as heartbreaking as it is deeply humanizing. “Estate Sale” is a special wonder. In this work, he manages to lend dignity and pity for the most useless junk. Indeed, he lends them life.