Midland Swimmer

Bert Almon is a professor of English at the University of Alberta and
the author of Calling Texas and Earth Prime.

John Reibetanz’s third volume of poetry is notable for its
craftsmanship and attention to detail. Some of the finest poems by this
acutely visual poet are about paintings. A poem about John Constable
begins with the arresting “Have they all eaten light?” Conscience is
the subject of sev-eral meditations on such contemporary events as the
Gulf War and the turmoil in Somalia.

Reibetanz’s one weakness is linked to his skill: his ability to treat
almost any topic with ingenuity (which is not the same as genius) brings
him at times into perilously close kinship with the academic poet.