Eight Mile

Elemental naturalness in the Cascade mountains. Snowy Moscow on an Easter morning. The crowded Muse d''Orsay. Lessons of the Southwest. The appeal of baked beans. God. Civility. Imagination. Moral certainty. Martha''s Vineyard at 6:00 AM. A century''s not-so-simple symbols. The poet''s mother. The poet''s father. President Ford''s funeral. And the writing of poetry itself.

These are among the subje...