Making Certain It Goes On

<p>Richard Hugo was, in James Wright's words, &quot;a great poet, true to our difficult life.&quot; Making Certain It Goes On brings together, as Hugo wished, the poems published in book form during his lifetime, together with the new poems he wrote in his last years.</p><p>An intense poet looks into the mirror and doesn't flinch:</p><p>Cliched reviewers say, &quot;you can't put this book down.&quot; In the case of poet Richard Hugo's autobiography, I found I needed to put it down occasionally. The book is so intense, so brutally truthful, that the reader has to take a break and walk away from it periodically, just a prize-fighter needs that break between rounds. Growing up on West Marginal Way with his grandparents in Seattle, going through his tour as a bombardier, his early life and eventual emergence as one of the top nation's best poets - and certainly one of the top poetry teachers - Hugo spares neither himself nor the reader. Although modern-day Americans are accustomed to seeing blood and gore on the TV screen, few are prepared for the concussive effects of Hugo's unflinching reminiscences. When the book finally is put down at the end, it stays with the reader, as does an admiration for the extreme courage Hugo took in putting all this down on paper. Review from http://www.poemhunter.com/richard-hugo/books/</p>