Burt Kimmelman

As If Free Burt Kimmelman

Poetry. Make no mistake about it: Burt Kimmelman appears here--& not for the first time--as a successor to the lineage of William Carlos Williams & George Oppen (to name but two), no less so for being a master of that lineage worn proudly. The sense of number in his writing--particle by particle & breath by breath--& the attention that he gives to other particulars--the littlest words & the small moments through which we live--are of a piece. In this there is nothing minor or modest, although it might appear to be just that, but a strict & powerful accounting, leaving me--for one--filled with admiration & hooked on every word--Jerome Rothenberg.