Aarik Danielsen for EcoTheo Review
Willett whirs and waxes rhapsodic, yet never writes from disembodied fancy. He converses with what he classifies knowing that, if we’re lucky, our understanding falls within the margin of error.
Glynn Young for Tweetspeak
These poems by Willett remind us that the elegy is a living poetic form, needed as much now as it ever was. Perhaps even more.
Daniel Rattelle for North American Anglican
Unlike Rilke, Willet is not ultimately afraid of the perfection of angels. He can turn our morbid foreknowledge into Christian hope.
Mark S. Burrows for Mockingbird
Precisely this “more” is what gives these poems their strong allure.
Lee Rossi for Rain Taxi
Is Willett a Christian writer, or someone who uses Christian tropes to explore his (sometimes) spiritual experience?
Michael Minkoff, Jr. for Relief Journal
Phases proves that poetry can be clever without being condescending… and touching without being sentimental.
Lee Rossi for Pedestal Magazine
Phases is a wonderful book, filled with energy and thoughtfulness, resonant with the strenuous Christianity which still makes Hopkins and Donne pleasurable to read even in these post-Christian times.