Philosophically engaged rather than philosophically detached, Adam Kirsch brings a singular and welcome seriousness to contemporary verse. In his new collection, he trains a shrewd eye on the violence and vulgarity of our age, but also celebrates, intelligently and convincingly, the larger and enduring realities of art, science, peace, and faith. These excellent poems are triumphs of craft and hope.
Timothy Steele In these unusually thoughtful, elegant poems, Adam Kirsch has consistently achieved the same end as the 'hypothetical' light of the collection's sole sonnet: he has 'made our dark matter visible.'
Jacqueline Osherow One of the country’s best-known poetry critics, advocating self-control, formal mastery, rational argument and attention to the past.
Publishers Weekly
Readable and intelligent...formally careful and...witty....Keen eye for contradiction and...knack for visualization....Deeply affecting.
Ray Olson
Booklist
At a time when academic criticism has become specialized to the point of irrelevance, it’s easy to appreciate the lighter touch Mr. Kirsch brings to critical prose.
Wes Davis
New York Sun
In formally traditionalist poetry about such threats as consumerism, the Iraq war and the decay of religious faith, Kirsch broods on the end of things.
New York Times Editors' Choice