Canadaigua

In these intellectual and precise poems, Revell (White Campion) explores the darker side of human progress with inventive language and apt allusions to myth and religion. In “Light, Zeal,” he contemplates the damage done by “extravagance”: “Out of Eden, future Edens, a dozen/ Names for every creature, and new green/ Buds on the dead willow. Impossible/ To find any harm in extravagance taking/ Refuge, undertaking the old purposes of/ Creation. But harm there was.” Some of Revell’s complaints veer dangerously close to elitism, as in his criticism of the summer blockbuster: “Disney and the Metaphysicals, men/ Equally impossible to emulate/ As our theaters fill with emptiness,/ As our poems go lame into the lean dearth/ Of their English.” Elsewhere, though, his passion for his art form is profoundly and simply expressed, “Poetry/ Is the groundless belief in fearful/ Attention,” as is his philosophy on love: “Romance is the kindergarten of savagery.” Revell’s elegies are especially successful, including those dedicated to fellow poets Jean Valentine and Yves Bonnefoy. Teeming with symbolism and metaphor, this collection is less grounded in the corporeal world than the poet’s previous works. It’s a pleasure to see Revell continue to evolve four decades into his illustrious career. (June)