SOURCE: A review of Human Wishes, in World Literature Today, Vol. 64, No. 2, Spring, 1990, p. 313.

[In the following review, Aldan praises Hass's imagery in Human Wishes.]

The delicacy and sensibility of Robert Hass, as exemplified in his new volume of poetry, Human Wishes, is a distinct joy to experience in this time when so many published works deal with violence, aberration, and alienation. His elegant gleanings of essence, often impressionist in tone, make us aware once again that beauty and meaningful silence still exist; that the day's events, as they progress into weeks, months, seasons in the cycle of life, are timeless and universal. What is required is that one remain attentive. Hass has done so, and has used his skill to record, and to remind us.

The collection is divided into four parts, through which various themes weave in flowing rhythm and resonance of imagery, among them the...