We Drove All Day for This: New and Selected Poems

Bruce Taylor’s We Drove All Day for This moves between the microscopic and the domestic, finding poetry in mould gardens, marbles, guitars rebuilt in memory, and waterfalls collapsing on themselves. Science threads through the work — echocardiograms, pondwater “little animals,” the odd fact that humans are deuterostomes — alongside childhood recollections of winters, fireworks, and television. Marked by a rare combination of technical precision and emotional clarity, Taylor’s poetry is attentive to rhyme, sound, and image. Each poem is built to last—the product of someone who trusts that restraint and proportion matter as much as flourish. Taylor’s diction is plainspoken, even conversational, but within that modest frame he creates effects of startling intimacy and power. Bringing together new poetry and a generous selection of Taylor’s past work, We Drove all Day for This remind us that technique, patiently applied, can make even the smallest details feel inexhaustible.