Far-Fetched

A new collection from one of contemporary American poetry''s finest craftsmenThrough birdcalls and ancient songs rain patter and a child''s scribble the poems in Far-Fetched sound the empty space / to test how long / how far. They follow the contours of Appalachian hillsides Missouri river bends and remote Australian coastlines tuning language to landscape. They register emotional life with great care; this is a work of fierce and delicate attention to the world. It is also poetry meant to be heard alert to the pleasures of sound. As August Kleinzahler has observed In Devin Johnston''s poetry every syllable is alive; the vowels and consonants combine to make a distinctive lovely austere music.