Wideawake Field by Eliza Griswold

It is difficult to trust a review copy of a poetry book, that is until it has proven itself not to be unmanageably hideous. I write poetry myself and often I do not understand how much of the published variety even manages to get published. I would be embarrassed if I published a volume that doesn't exceed the average book of poetry. This book proved not to be average in any way. First of all, it is written by an investigative journalist, thus records a set of experiences that are anything but average. It's about love and war and tragedy and poverty. Most good poetry, I would argue, is about these broad subjects of human experience. If I had my copy of the book on hand, I'd copy a few verses just to prove to you that this poetry is out of the ordinary( or otherwise, extraordinary).