Outlaw's Retreat: Selected Poems of Tom Merrill

"As the editor of TheHyperTexts, it has been my pleasure and good fortune to publish three Pulitzer Prize nominees alongside recent winners of a number of prestigious literary awards. I like to think "I know whereof I speak," and in my opinion T. Merrill is an outstanding poet whose poetry is highly original while always respecting and honoring the great and grand traditions of English poetry. I and others have noted that Merrill's poetry calls to mind Housman, and I think the comparison is favorable to Housman as well as to Merrill. Moreover, Merrill writes rhythmic, enchanting, almost mystical poems that are sympathetic to the human condition without being weepily sentimental. That's no small trick, and few poets of any era have pulled it off successfully. Merrill is a true magician of words, not a mere sleight-of-hand "artist," and readers would be wise to fall under his spell."" Michael R. Burch - Sponsor, Editor of www.thehypertexts.com