I heard Mary Jo Salter give a poetry reading in upstate NY in 1984 or 1985 and was transfixed by her work. I purchased "Henry Purcell in Japan" and have been following her writing and her career ever since. I always buy her books when they appear. 
 "Dead Letters" stood out to me--a daughter coming to terms with her mother's death is, perhaps, one of the most poignant and difficult occasions. A poem about the death of a Japanese friend is also shatteringly wonderful. 
 Salter has not abandoned form, and her successful villanelles and sonnets are all refreshingly accessible as well as emotionally engrossing. How does she express these thoughts and emotions so perfectly? She is a dazzling stylist but never seems to be calling attention to the work itself--just the feelings or experiences that have launched it. 
 Salter's is a unique voice but you might enjoy her if you like the British Betjeman, Larkin, Wendy Cope, and those wonderful poets born in the 1920's: Hecht, Hollander, Wilbur, Nemerov, Donald Hall, etc. I do not mean to imply that she is old-fashioned but rather than her poems have a timelessness about them. 
 Keep and reread and reread again. It's worth it.