Henri Cole is a master at precision and quiet observation. I appreciate his work and what it adds to moment-focused lyric poems.

This collection of Cole's poetry is essential for poets and readers alike. Writing exclusively in 14-line forms, usually without rhyme (the so-called "American sonnet" form), Cole dives into his life and relationships, the mundane and the transcendental--sometimes in the same poem. I am both dazzled by these and brought down by their brutality. The intimacy is sometimes too much to bear, and I had to take breaks from reading this so as to grapple with individual poems. Cole's use of language is revelatory and bold and enormously creative. Highly recommended.