Svenbro's poem “Polyphony” (2003) uses an organ (the musical instrument) as a metaphor for the human body in order to dramatize the expression of love in the polyphonic human voice. It relates in many interesting ways (including its use of personification and conceit to explore the nature of the human psyche) to “Lepidopterology,” which immediately precedes it in Three-toed Gull.

Tomas Tranströmer's New Collected Poems (1997), edited and translated by Robin Fulton, includes this eminent Swedish poet's most influential work. From the elegant “17 Poems” to the challenging “The Sad Gondola,” it offers an excellent introduction to a poet whose work has influenced Svenbro.

The Craft of Zeus: Myths of Weaving and Fabric (1996), by Svenbro and John Scheid, is an analytical commentary on Greek and Roman myth and society, with a focus on weaving—a central concept in classical thought—and...