Poquette has a bachelor's degree in English and specializes in writing about literature. In the following essay, Poquette discusses Hillman's use of structure to influence the pacing in the poem.
Reading and understanding a poem such as Hillman's "Air for Mercury" takes work, as some critics note of the entire Cascadia volume. Rochelle Ratner, the reviewer for Library Journal, says that the volume is "Not for the casual poetry reader." Likewise, in his review of the volume for Valparaiso Poetry Review, Kevin Arnold notes that "The only constant on the pages of Cascadia is the page number," although he does not see Hillman's poems as "intentionally obscure." But Arnold also acknowledges that "given the scope of the greater work, individual poems are not necessarily easy to comprehend on a first reading." This is especially true.....
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