As a young poet, Keith Moul was under the influences of university professors where he attended school for Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees. These poets/professors included Donald Drummond and Thom McAfee at the U. of Missouri (1963–1967); Robert Huff and Knute Skinner at Western Washington U. (1969–1971); and James Dickey at the U. of South Carolina (1971–1974). He later immersed himself in the writings of Theodore Roethke (for which he produced an annotated bibliography, Theodore Roethke’s Career, published by G.K. Hall in 1977). He continued reading and learned a great deal from William Stafford and Philip Levine.
Most, or all, of these early poems were published in university journals or little magazines during the 1970–1985 period.
The poems themselves are principally lyrics, with a strong interest in place and topography. Keith took a kind of spiritual solace in the flora and fauna first of the Midwest near his home in St. Louis, Missouri, then in the Pacific Northwest, to which he has always returned after sojourns in college and employment.
His poems tend not to rely on figurative language. They seek precision of diction and fidelity to accurate vocabulary.
Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Kelsay Books (July 25, 2017)