There's a fine, rumbling power to Crisler's poetry, a daredevil blend of humor and anger that pays homage to the everyday glories and frustrations of the human condition, with all its icy highways, hospitals, and basketball courts. There's an eclectic energy to Black Achilles, too, a stylistic and narrative range that speak to a poet of great wisdom, humility, and grace. -Michael Meyerhofer