Dinner Behind The Lines

Critics who point to Stephen McClellan Ryder as a profound and brilliant poet invariably refer to DINNER BEHIND THE LINES as best evidence. The sweep and majesty of the work in this volume, the audacity, authority and empathy of the furthest reaching pieces signal the bloom of a veteran American poet bursting full-grown upon the literary landscape.
There poems, very short, very good stories very well-told help to redefine modern poetry; we don't argue about their meaning, we agree. The range of subjects and style, syntax and idiom is breathtaking; and when coupled with the sheer, raw emotional power for which Ryder is so celebrated, DINNER BEHIND THE LINES becomes an indispensible work, a phenomenon.