Poetry. "There is a quiet self-possession and maturity of vision in this volume that characterizes all of its poems, yet at the same time they range widely, addressing subjects as various as Neolithic customs, Whitman's career as a Civil War nurse, the physiology of cetaceans, and a Muslim's stealthy visit to an adult bookstore. The author is also capable of writing sly accounts of family history and a Cold War childhood that seem archetypal rather than generic, that show evidence of a strong social conscience that never devolves to cant. TRACTION is an altogether impressive book of great tonal and formal range"--David Wojahn.