Spring Review of Winter Stars (Winter Stars by Larry Levis)

Originally published in 1985, this collection by late poet Larry Levis deserves a fresh look right here right now:

Reading Levis’ Winter Stars is such a consistently moving experience that you have to believe part of its success is due to Levis’ careful arrangement of sections and titles, until you read in his notes that “The poems in this book are arranged in the approximate chronological order of their writing.” Turns out Levis could just churn out one great poem after another, making his careful handling of the confessional and universal look easy. So even though Levis warns us in the poem “Whitman” that “To find me now will cost you everything,” the book itself will cost you less than $20, and will give you nearly everything in return.