The Simple Truth: Poems

Elegiac, humorous and wise, these poems marry descriptions of the everyday with the beauty of images that feel familiar and new at the same time. The irretrievable past and the fragility of its lessons for the present haunt many of the poems here. Other than writers such as Raymond Carver, nobody could be said to better represent the voices of the blue-collar worker, the farmer, the poor standing...more

Elegiac, humorous and wise, these poems marry descriptions of the everyday with the beauty of images that feel familiar and new at the same time. The irretrievable past and the fragility of its lessons for the present haunt many of the poems here. Other than writers such as Raymond Carver, nobody could be said to better represent the voices of the blue-collar worker, the farmer, the poor standing in line to find work, the ones without the voices to celebrate their own lives in the way Levine does in poetry, with generosity, honesty and grandeur.   hide