Book excerpt: Naming the Silence is a welcomed new collection by a distinctive voice in American poetry. Deeply lyrical and finely crafted, the poems here reveal a practiced command of nuanced phrasing, versification, and evocative imagery. With subject matter both mundane and metaphysical, they are the result of the rich interplay within the creative imagination of memory, discerning observation of the everyday world, and sensitive reflection. In a memorable way, they help define the role of poet as listener and namer. To paraphrase Alexander Pope, Michael Blanchard gives voice to what is often deeply felt but seldom expressed. From "Autumn Comes in the Deep South" One day they will tear down this house and all the houses where I've passed time and all the roads leading to them will lead nowhere and all that's left will be the space kept open and silent and the place of the mind that turns at the sound of a name will go still for silence has no need for names.