Peter Oresick

Five stars because it's such a useful and original anthology, though I'd give it 3 stars for the cumulative dreary effect of 300 pages of so many "woe is me I'm a downtrodden worker" poems. Not that they're all like that. My personal taste keeps me always on the lookout for poems about taking pride in one's skills. Through this book I've discovered some wonderful poets I otherwise would never have heard of, including at least one who apparently never had a book published: Todd Jailer. Some of the name brand writers - Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Bly - are of less interest, sounding like upper class writers who are trying to write about "the condition of the working class." Others like Philip Levine have an authenticity that comes from inside experience. Best of all are the lesser known, the less polished gems - totally genuine - you'll find here.… (more)