I wasn't disappointed with the selections. No, every one was perfect of its kind. My chagrin was with Justice. Perhaps the secret of Justice's reticence in prose is also the key to his skill. His prose is almost as concentrated as his verse.
Every sentence carries a noticeable weight.
Of course, the prose of poets is legendary for its density of local effects, especially in richness of description. Justice's special accomplishment is to have made his packed prose style both relaxed and immensely readable. Simple, intimate, and yes, elegiac, the story is almost over before it begins. Every detail discloses some crucial fact, sometimes about both the narrator and his subjects. This story is a joy to read, but what agony it must have been to write and re-write.