Formal and natural …

… A Descent into the Maelström. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

This collection includes many translations of other poets (Jorge Luis Borges, Luís de Camões) and interpretations of Biblical stories, but the majority of the poems are sonnets, mostly Shakespearean. Baer is a “formalist” poet; after all, he created The Formalist, the gold-standard journal dedicated to metrical poetry. But his unfailing ear also allows his own meter the frequent hiccup that adds aural spice to the line.