THE ARCTIC HERD (ALABAMA, 1984).  Review by Bruce Weigl in Choice (March, 1985)

John Morgan has more than fulfilled the promise apparent in his first collection, (Bone-Duster, 1980), in this new book.  Morgan again demonstrates that he understands the complexity and the enormous possibilies of the free-verse line.  Although many of these first person poems are narrative, they are never flat or prosy; Morgan's close attention to aspects of craft proves repeatedly the musical possibilites inherent in our daily language.  Although his range of subject matter is sweeping and inclusive (eg. the Alaskan landscape, a snake-hunt in New Mexico, and his own "oracle" at Delphi), he is at his poetic best within the realm of family.  Through his poems about family life and the concerns of parenting, Morgan is able to engage us all in the difficult and paradoxical instutution of the American family.  In "Her Injury: For Nancy," a painful poem about an automobile accident, the poet suddenly shifts focus near the poem's end away from the injured mother to the "Husband and son together/ in the patient lobby, furled/ upon themselves, hands of a/ clock without the clock, waiting..."; but the poem ends with lines that illuminate the ways in which personal loss and trauma, however insignificant to the rest of the world, define our point of view.  These poems are exposed, rich with affirmation, and always genuine.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

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