The touchstones for the poetry of Thomas Jones seem to be Walt Whitman and William Carlos Williams, both of whom developed voices that were quintessentially American. As is the case with the work of these masters, the U.S. experience forms the core of Jones' writing. Whether he is reflecting on his own boyhood ("Birthplace"), his immigrant grandparents ("Words from the Local Shaman"), his desires ("Lost Traveler"), or his sojourn with friends to Whitman's house in Camden, NJ ("Good Grey Poet"), Jones is an American Everyman. While this role can open itself up to an overbearing sentimentality, Jones remains resolutely stoic. His poems are the work of an honest, committed writer for whom poetry is not merely a literary discipline, but an apparatus for living. "Answer to My Mother," in particular, is a real gem.