“As an aspiring writer feeling the pressure to publish, Gilbert’s output, or lack thereof, was provocative, borderline maddening. But what he lacked in prolificacy he compensated for in rigor. Precision of experience was as vital as precision of phrasing. Poetry was something to unearth, not manufacture. ‘The hard part for me is to find the poem—a poem that matters.’”

Read more of Drew Bratcher’s reflection on the poet Jack Gilbert and Refusing Heaven here.

2:48 pm  •  14 November 2012  •  37 notes