A bemused, stoop-shouldered figure who is more than a mere speaker-let's call him a protagonist-stalks the poems of Falling to Earth. With candor and an almost grandiose simplicity, Hansen describes the limitations of his middle-aged body and, in so doing, the limitations of his enterprise in mid-life: the gracelessness of survival. Falling to Earth is the journey of a vibrant soul refreshing itself poem by poem.-Molly Peacock, from her forewordTom Hansen taught writing and literature for 35 years before retiring to the Black Hills of South Dakota. His credits include Paris Review, The Iowa Review, and The American Scholar.