The late William Stafford was one of America's most widely admired poets, yet Stafford's work has always remained controversial. On William Stafford: The Worth of Local Things brings together responses from both critics and fellow poets, including Margaret Atwood, Robert Coles, Robert Creeley, James Dickey, Richard Hugo, Linda Pastan, Charles Simic, and Louis Simpson. The reviews of Stafford's achievements offer a unique view into some of the livelier debates in poetics of recent decades and help to clarify the precise nature of his tremendous influence on American poetry.