Once Out of Nature

With a style that is alternately straightforward and subtle, Simmerman ( Home ) writes of his relationship with nature, recalls vivid childhood impressions and draws moving portraits of friends and acquaintances. He approaches many of his subjects with a wide-eyed wonder that lends some poems freshness and the purity of a child's observation; other verses suffer from a crudeness, neither illuminating nor esthetically pleasing. Following ``Against Derrida,'' a ``poetical satire of deconstructionist criticism,'' is Jay Farness's ``Glosse,'' a ``deconstructionist satire'' of the poem. Though inventive and clever, this involved interpretation interrupts more than it adds. Other experiments include invocations of other poets. In ``Boys,'' the voices of Lucille Clifton and Gwendolyn Brooks are audible; in ``A Lick and a Prayer,'' dedicated to the memory of poet James Wright, Wright's elegant simplicity emerges in several lines. Though unevenness diminishes the collection's strength, overall, it is, nevertheless, an impressive effort. (Jan.)