Rain’s Drumbeat Sets Poetry in Motion

Dreary Weather Gives Verse Rhythm and Flow

Living in a desert city like Las Vegas, you can forget about rain—not as in “give up hoping for,” though sometimes that, too, but actually forget. Your umbrella gets buried in the closet along with table leaves and old bike helmets. The rare morning when you open the door to gray drizzle, it’s a little flustering: an improbability realized and you’re wearing the wrong shoes.

Preparing to face the elements here usually means sunblock and a hat. A colleague in the English department at UNLV teaches the concept of “the sublime” …