Big Blue Train (p)

Book excerpt: 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.