Working Out By Hughes, David

He comes each week to loosen his limbs,lose some weight, make the heart beat stronger,longer. This is a skilful collection by a poet well acquaintedwith relative place: wherever a poem lives, it alwaysremembers its place in the world. Indeed, juxtapositionsand connections – with place, culture, and amonghumans – are where the poet flexes his muscle – ‘worksout’ his ideas. The poet gazes outward and inwardwith the same critical eye: he kindly refuses to judgethe humans in his poems, instead offering them up asprecise portraits, and even in dialect, never caricatures. The poet is never far from the frame, sharing in ourdelight, disappointment, upset, and wonder.