“In the Western Night" establishes Frank Bidart's place among this century's most emotionally articular poets. His fine earlier books, published between 1973 and 1983, are here, surroudned by a selection of equally impressive newer pieces. Taken together, they constitute a hauntingly raw voice that finds itself through an exhilarating array of prosodic techniques. More than most of his post-confessional contemporaries, Bidart is unafraid of passion, and willing to harness his passion to words and structures...His voice, and the voices in his dramatic monologues, are unrelentingly curious and honest; and yet they inevitably back up against the greatest of mysteries.” —Matthew Gilbert, The Boston Globe

“In the supreme poems, Bidart's spiritual force makes me...yield to the authority of the voice. "Ellen West" is a heartbreaking act of sympathy.” —Denis Donoghue, The New Republic

“Achieves a grandeur of vision few poets nowadays can match.” —Alan Shapiro, Chicago Tribune