Last Blue by Gerald Stern

   Gerald Stern,
Last Blue, poems: Philip Levine writes, "This is a sparer Stern than we're used to; for years he's been our Whitman for the present hour. He still is, but he's writing now with a tighter focus, as though he had to make every word count. The best news is he does. 'Ravages' and 'Against the Crusades' are among the best poems he's ever given us, and 'Progress and Poverty' may be the poem of the decade." (Norton)