La parola da casa, Serena Piccoli

i've been reading through some of w.k. buckley's poetry tonight--mostly Sylvia's Bells (Small Poetry Press), Lost Heartlands Found (Pudding House), Athena Comes to Gary (IU Northwest--this one you should probably e-mail w.k. buckley to get), and 81 Migrations (Fithian Press). in these works, the midwest, especially northwest indiana and chicago, are prominent features. in some ways, buckley is northwest indiana's poet chief. that's not to say that other places do not show up in his work--he mentions places like new mexico and mexico--, but his work captures much of the region, from the sand dunes to the steel factories. buckley's style is full of variety, and he has a good ear for splitting the line--this is especially true of the poems in Sylvia's Bells. so if you want to step away from the coasts to see what's going on in the american heartland, buckley's work is a nice place to start.