In the past I've had students think of Fairchild as being too close to prose--until they heard his work read aloud with conviction. Then they were able to get his genius for shaping narratives in lines. I think he's one of the most important American poets going--utterly original, at times even sublime. I've seen new work from Pete that equals his past high points, so he's still going strong. By the way, his second book, Local Knowedge, has been reprinted by Norton in a significantly revised version, so readers can see that this intelligence has been at work longer than we had known.
[This message has been edited by David Mason (edited March 11, 2006).]
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