Title: Solemnity but so little surprise
Review: These are "good" poems but little more, I could use them as classic cases of the type of work produced in countless minor MFA programs, simple narratives that strive for lyric intensity, but fail due to their obvious neglect of more sophisticated uses of language. Don't get me wrong, there is some good here, and Ward offers a few fine portraits of the daily life lived, but they falter in so many places due to the lack of deep engagement I encountered. I feel as if I have read too many of these poems too often, sucb a safe and so consequently careless art he practices, solemnity with so little surprise.
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