The Entire Packet

H. D. Wagener writes poetry with the perspective of the skeptical western scientist; a kitchen helper/cook in a spiritual retreat center run by nuns; a carpenter; an expatriate from the Old South; and an American meditating two hours a day as a long-term student of a Hindu sage. He recognizes no limitations in subject matter. His thoughts are evocative; even the scriptures come under his scrutiny. The poems in "The Entire Packet" are intended to present a mystical perspective, to stir, occasionally to entertain, and to provide insight into the relations between physical reality, man, and spiritual reality. The poems offer a deep, profound expression of the human experience. There is no need to ask, "Why doesn't H. D. say what he means?" He says it. The late John Robert Doyle, Jr., professor of English literature and author of "The Poetry of Robert Frost," said of Wagener's poetry, with its insights of one thoroughly conversant with the Earth, "I have never seen anything like it."