If an echo is a 'pining into sound,' Kuhl rewrites it in a way that gives pining uncommon agency - this is not a 'pining away' but a pining toward, a pining into. It's vigorous; it's vivid, but nonetheless graceful in its manipulation of the layers and columns of the human psyche. Rangy in her syntax, tight in her rhythms and sounds, Kuhl exposes the intricacies of daily acts, events and sights, slowly extending them out beyond their own boundaries to where ghosts whisper into open mouths and the 'past is wild but almost / over.' This exceptional poet hits a new height with each new book, and the view from this one is great! - Cole Swensen