The Lightning That Strikes the Neighbors' House - Wisconsin Poetry Series | Contemporary Poetry Book for Literature Lovers & Book Club Discussions

My first reaction to Lantz's work was genuine intrigue. That's a great thing to find in the first few pages of any book, but a rare find in most poetry these days. Nick Lantz is alive in his work which is more than can be said about many modern poets. I was shocked with how quickly I finished the book, not simply because it is only 66 pages but because the book has a functional flow. It is effectively broken into sections that are somewhat telling of the poems found behind their subheadings, but mainly serves to more closely align poems of similar content. This technique added a great dimension to the book giving it an almost short novel feel. Overall I would rate this as a very well structured but not overly imposing collection of modern poetry. This is one of those uncommon books of poetry that is worth reading over several times, and thinking about several more.