The Gaza of Winter

Revell's poems for the most part are about that moment in between loss and resignation, pain and hope, joy and reconciliation. He is the poet in the middle of things, looking both ways, savoring the complexity of the situation, wanting to let go of the one and move on to the other. Revell's poetry records this zone of intense reality when the mind sees exactly the way things are, and the heart comprehends the possibilities for itself. It is a rich environment for any artist, and Revell's language and style are well suited to the challenge.

Revell's elegiac poems move quietly and thoughtfully through a group of juxtaposed subjects: absence and presence, grief and joy, reality and story, the poet's testimony set against the realization that 'so many things arrive as themselves and need / no witness.' . . . Revell represents a prevalent poetic style, the sincere and personal reverie with philosophic implications. He handles this mode with near flawless grace.

Revell seems to me a major new voice in American poetry. Again and again I was surprised by the calm ease of his effortlessly propelled lines which always took me to unexpected places even when they sounded most reassuring and familiar. He wears his transparent style modestly, yet it kept making me sit up and take notice. . . . He has found a language of great strength and elasticity and he is using it to say remarkable things. I am convinced he will say great things in it.