A prose poem has been added as a prologue. Emanuel's great feat in The Dig, a 1992 National Poetry Series winner, is her display of poems as living relics of an archaeological expedition into memory and human folly. . . . Emanuel has managed to lock a great deal of humanity into this humorous, inspiring, and honest record of a place too quickly forgotten. This figurative language, however, is not excessive, not contrived. Her energy simply overflows.
Every line is rich, yet spare.
Every word is cogent.