SOURCE: A review of Landfall, in The Christian Science Monitor, September 30, 1981, p. 15.

In the following review, Ratiner praises Wagoner's Landfall for its “precise, luminous diction,” unpretentious style, and friendly voice, but regrets what he sees as frequent verbal repetitions and permutations.

David Wagoner has had a long, prolific career as a poet, novelist, and editor. In Landfall, his 12th collection of poetry, one can feel the slow ripening of his outlook and his art.

More than the beauty of single poems, what the reader finds intriguing here is the book's sensibility—groping, touching, examining, and then releasing the things of this world, weighing experience with language.

Landfall presents a five-part journey into nature: cultivated nature, as found in the houses and gardens where we make our “homes”; human nature, the unpredictable social garden; the magnificent chaos of the swamp, with its plants, insects, and wildlife; the rivers and...