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Arc International Poets series
UK Poetry Book Society Recommendation, Winter 2005
Bluegrass Wasteland draws on T R Hummer’s collections of poetry published between 1978 and 2003 and serves to locate him as one of America’s most distinguished poets.
His work is characterised by a mixture of intellectual and emotional observation; his poems leap off the page through the sheer scope of his imagination. A master of the longer poem, he draws on his skills as a saxophonist and one-time band member to give his narrative a rhythm and drive that make for utterly compelling reading.
Of Hummer’s most recent collection, Useless Virtues, the eminent American poet and critic Richard Howard writes: “The whole book… is so intelligent… that I am not at all embarrassed, only proud to hail Hummer – along with John Koethe and Alan Grossman – as a principal poet of the American mind.”
“This is that rare thing, a good-value poetry collection. … arresting, puzzling, unusual, sometimes frustrating, nearly always enjoyable. … distinctive muscular method catches reality. I had never heard of Hummer before. Now, I shall look out for him.”
— PBS Bulletin no 207, 2005
— John Idris Jones
“… a shock of recognition, and a delight in discovering the strength of the writing. … a driving, compelling quality which echoes the musical genre his title alludes to… They say the best jazz musicians have an instantly recognisable voice; listen to this.”