Standing Up to the Day

In deceptively simple language (consider the nuances of the title), these brief and quiet poems probe the common dichotomies of our lives--the fractured either/or way we position ourselves in the western world: present/past, song/silence, man/nature, alive/dead, awake/asleep, day/night. At their best, the poems in Standing Up to the Day celebrate those joyous moments when we forget the fracture and feel the wholeness of our lives, and mostly "it's the small things we feel." Knorr has an eastern-like knack for observing those small things. One of my favorites: "The chicks sing/through the morning./ They are the morning." These are fine poems--subtle, intelligent, and best enjoyed during our quietest hours.--Gary Thompson