SOURCE: "The Man Who Stayed Behind," in The New York Times Book Review, October, 30, 1977, pp. 3, 52.

One of the most prominent and influential figures in contemporary American poetry, Bly writes visionary and imagistic verse distinguished by its unadorned language and generally subdued tone. His poems are pervaded by the landscape and atmosphere of rural Minnesota, where he has lived most of his life, and are focused on the immediate, emotional concerns of daily life. In the following excerpt, Bly comments on the significance of Aleixandre's verse for the tradition of Western poetry.

How fitting it is that Vicente Aleixandre has won the Nobel Prize! He is one of the greatest poets alive and his work stands for endurance, the roots under the tree of consciousness, the slowly growing trunk. He receives the prize for all the others of his generation in Spain, especially Jorge Guillen and Rafael Alberti. His...