Drucilla Wall’s poems are all over the place. And that’s a good thing as the University of Missouri–St. Louis English scholar weaves stories of everyday life in contemporary American, Native American and Irish cultures for her first poetry collection, “The Geese at the Gates.”
“It is rare one finds a poet like Drucilla Wall, so perfectly attuned to the life we live now while also keeping so vividly mindful of the lost, invisible cultures steeping just below the surface,” Boston-based poet Daniel Tobin said. “In her lucidly straying narratives and finely keyed lyrics in her generous ear and wry wit, we hear the vital under-song of the disappeared as well as the enduring presences of family, locality and nation.”
Wall, assistant teaching professor of English at UMSL, explores intersections of identity, history and cultural practice in her writing. She said she draws ideas and inspiration for her work from ordinary everyday life.
Reviewed 2013-02-18