<p>An ideal introduction to Gibbs' poetic world, <i>The Essential Robert Gibbs</i> collects some of the finest, most thought-provoking works from throughout his career. Sometimes compared to Gerard Manley Hopkins and Margaret Avison, he has been called a `gourmet of the minimal' who `devotes himself to asserting the value of the ordinary' (M. Travis Lane) and his work demonstrates both a sophisticated grasp of the human mind and a warm familiarity of voice.</p><p>Gibbs' poems mix sensuous dreamscapes and grounded realities. In his poems landscapes are evoked in all their ripeness, a father's quiet nobility is celebrated, writer's block becomes a force of nature, and a mind can become a home.</p>