The Paper Train: Echoes from Oxford

With the publication of his fourth book of poems, Frederick Pheiffer can lay claim to the designation of "the people's poet." Currently, what passes for poetry is so abstract and abstruse as to preclude any bond between the writer and reader. Pheiffer's work runs sharply counter to the prevailing trend. Pheiffer recalls the lives of real people; their hopes and fears, joys and sorrows. His poetry takes root in the ground of reality. The poet and the reader meet in an embrace of mutual empathy and common sensibility. This is a poetic collection that is comprehensible. Pheiffer remains what his poetry reveals: a fully-formed, finely-fashioned writer.