Local Knowledge: Poems Book

I liked Local Knowledge. I appreciate the work that went into creating this collection and can see why it won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry. I think the pacing of the collection works very well, and I like the structure to it. The quote from Robert Creeley on the first page, before any of the poems, really does sum up what the collection is going to be about. Also, I think when Fairchild uses quotes from other people before starting a poem, he incorporates them seamlessly, and these quotes are the perfect way to begin the poems (specifically in "Local Knowledge" and "Work").

I think my favorite poem out of the whole collection is "The Last Days." I love the line "and the pane of glass that comes between us seems as distant, as final, as the stars." While there are many strong and powerful lines and stanzas throughout this collection, this is the one that stuck with me. It feels like it's giving a description to a feeling that I have not known how to put into words until I read "The Last Days." Another poem I enjoy is "The Machinist, Teaching His Daughter to Play the Piano." I play several instruments, and I feel like I can really relate to this particular poem, especially about being a student of music.

One poem, or part of a poem, that I do not understand is in part IV of "Local Knowledge." In the third stanza, "your" is used in place of "you're" two times, and it seems to be a stylistic choice, but grammatically, I don't understand it. Also, I have trouble seeing the connection between all these poems, but can understand what they mean individually.