Big blue train

the long version

In this dramatic new collection, Paul Zimmer reaches toward new territory: he takes on grand themes while searching for resonating philosophical insights. But, above all, Zimmer's poetry is a poetry of clarity and immediate impact, and so the depth of these poems is achieved without cliches. The range of Zimmer's technique is matched only by the range of his themes: from jazz to baseball, from friendship to love, from surviving everyday life to living through atomic testing. These poems survey the human spirit in a way that is both accessible and challenging. Even though he retains aspects of the wry, funny voice that inhabits his earlier work, Zimmer constructs a more mature collection, with a vision that explores limits, the difficulties of aging, and the inevitable presence of mortality. What is perhaps surprising is how often this vision is profoundly optimistic, despite the high price required to purchase it.