
Poetry. Jewish Studies. True to its title, Peter Waldor's WHO TOUCHES EVERYTHING (Settlement House Books, 2013) is a book of connections. From the click of an infant's lips to hermits living in adjacent caves, from "where a Mafioso/ left those terrible/ plastic bags..." to the first woman "to row the Atlantic," these spare and hard-edged poems are as rich in wisdom as they are in imagery. WHO TOUCHES EVERYTHING is a rewarding book. Peter Waldor is one of the most original voices in American poetry today. With subtle wit and a pitch perfect ear he celebrates all things great and small—be it a bolt hole on a bridge to the speed of light—with a transformative, often spiritual imagination. We are better off after reading him.