The poems in William Virgil Davis's Landscape and Journey constitute
forays onto actual terrain--either close to home in Texas or farther off
in Wales--as well as exploring what the poet Guy Davenport once called
the "geography of the imagination." A number of the poems here recount
the closely observed details of journeys the poet has made, travels he
has literally taken. At other times they tell of his imaginary
journeys--travels the poet would like to take or "travels" to places
only "visible" in the mind's eye. Often Davis's elegant lyrics combine a
bit of both. They take off from a particular painting or line of
poetry--by Geoffrey Hill or Charles Tomlinson--and carry the reader
beyond the surfaces of art to the very heart of things. His poems are,
in this sense, like travelers sent out into the world to make their way,
to survive and to endure. The New Criterion, which has published poetry
since 1984, is recognized as one of the foremost contemporary venues for
poetry with a regard for traditional meter and poetic form. The magazine
was thus an early leader in that poetic renaissance that has come to be
called the New Formalism. Building on its commitment to serious poetry,
The New Criterion in 2000 established an annual poetry prize, which
carries an award of $3,000. In 2001, Ivan R. Dee began publishing the
annual New Criterion poetry prizewinner.
