The Crisp Day Closing on My Hand

``[A]s someone who only discovered Lane's work with Temporary Shelter in 1993, I appreciate the opportunity to read earlier poems and to glimpse the chronological evoluation of her craft.... Even though this book is aimed at students as well as general readers, with its useful introduction and generous Afterword, in which we meet the poet stepping outside her craft to say what is and has been important to her, the beating heart of it is of course in the poems themselves.'' -- Barbara Myers -- ARC Poetry Magazine, 60, Summer 2008, 200808
``The quest for a wider audience for poetry may be quixotic, but this series makes a serious attempt to present attractive, affordable selections that speak to contemporary interests and topics that might engage a younger generation of readers. Yet it does not condescend, preferring to provide substantial and sophisticated poets to these new readers. At the very least, these slim volumes will make very useful introductory teaching texts in post-secondary classrooms because they whet the appetite without overwhelming.'' -- Paul Milton -- Canadian Literature, 193, Summer 2007, 201003
``Excellently selected and edited by Jeanette Lynes for the Laurier Poetry Series, this tidy text renders Lane's oeuvre accessible to new readers.'' -- Kit Dobson -- The Dalhousie Review, 200906
``Lane's work is comprehensive and thorough with lively images, deep and passionate feeling, provocative thought, and comfortable strength.... Lane... says `poetry is a pleasure with the sound of meaning.' Her work is indeed a pleasure, and it is further pleasure to have it published in the Laurier Poetry Series.'' -- Michael O. Nowlan -- The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton, NB), January 19, 2008, 200801
``Lane's poems are regularly capable of disarming their readers with what Jeanette Lynes--in her introduction to the book--calles a 'willingness to let the odd, the quirky, the eccentric, sing'. The Crisp Day Closing on My Hand exults in a wilderness that is...not always interpretable or scriptable by humanity...Lane's poetics connote a...deferral of...ego to the uninterpretable natural world.'' -- Owen Percy -- The Goose, 4:1, Fall 2008, 200905
``Lane presses the belief that the key to significant action is the relinquishing of ego [in her] in a brief but inspired afterword.'' -- Paul W. Harland, University of Alberta -- Journal of Canadian Poetry, 201003
``The aspect I admire most about this selection is the sheer range of Lane's imagination.... Wisdom is found in abundance in this collection.... There are two quotations from the afterword that sum up for me the experience of reading M. Travis Lane. `Mystery, I think, is the cheif subject of poetry' (77) and `a poem is not a message, but a sharing' (79). There is a seeking spirit moving through these poems, and readers will be grateful for what it shares.'' -- Ian LeTourneau -- PoetryReviews, September 2009, 201104