Fine Incisions: Essays on Poetry and Place

Always, with Ormsby, things come down to the primacy of the word -- the sounds which shape and give ultimate authority. This is refreshing. It's sophisticated yet not done in a complex or over-technical way. It helps to eliminate the general and abstract at the same time as it shows the way such things can and do transform the ordinary into something greater, more permanent, able, through the shaping, to encompass and embody experience. It's admirable criticism and scholarship, certainly, but with the added dimensions of a poet's working knowledge, of fluent multilingual abilities, and a determined search for the almost sacramental autonomy of word and form. It's a heady brew.'--Chris Wiseman "Books in Canada "

... Ormsby is one of the two or three best English-language poets we [Canada] can fairly lay claim to. A fact that should be recognized someday.'--Alex Good & Steven W. Beattie "The Afterword "

Culture is not something so easily broken down. "Fine Incisions" is a study of literature and culture from Eric Ormsby, as he discusses North American Literary criticism and hopes to challenge it to rise to the challenge, as he mixes in memoir with his own studies of culture, language, literature, and so much more. A poet by trade, Ormsby's writing is sure to draw readers in, and his stories and discussions will resonate with any, critic and non-critic alike. "Fine Incisions" is a strong addition to any literary criticism collection, enthusiastically recommended.--Mary Cowper "Midwest Book Review "

From the heights of a sand dune in the desert to the achievements of Hart Crane and the minutae of a letter by Marianne Moore, Ormsby presents us with a world that is always fresh, and continually fascinating.'--Ian Ferrier "Montreal Review of Books "

A review like this one can only brush the surface of a collection so rich. And it's simply impossible to praise it sufficiently. Its rare erudition and worldliness provide perfect ballast for the chiseled sentences of the essays, which flicker and snap with the energy of live wires. Ormsby borrows his title from a poem by Emily Dickinson, and does her honor in these essays that have the penetration of literal incisions, openings that cut deep into mystery, opening it to reveal all its shining interior.'--Roger Sauls "Rover Arts "