The Mercy Seat

Norman Dubie has one of the most radical imaginations in American letters. At a glance, it might seem there are several poets represented in this collection. It's a fitting characteristic for a writer whose poems include homages to great storytellers like Chekhov, Ingmar Bergman, and Thomas Hardy. In pursuit of the well-told story, or illuminating the life of a common laborer or legendary thinker, Dubie's love of history is ever-present, although he often enough creates histories of his own. As critic David Young put it: "We know that Dubie is lying, though we are never sure how much, and instead of resenting the lying we like it, relearning the lesson about what poetry really is." Book jacket.