What night forgets

the long version

"John Wengert, a young poet from Pennsylvania, steps off a bus in Oaxaca, Mexico, having survived the twelve hour journey from Mexico City. Oaxaca's many charms unfold before him - the glorious sunlight, the sweet aroma of spring blossoms, and the spirits of the ancient Zapotecs of Monte Alban float through the air. John has come to Mexico to find a job, learn Spanish, and have time to relax and write.". "By a strange coincidence, John's adventures bring him back in touch with Hugh, an old acquaintance who, now psychotic, claims to be fleeing CIA operatives who have brainwashed him - a borderline personality bound for trouble south of the border. Julie, an alluring children's book illustrator traveling with her lover, Kathryn, arouses in John strong feelings, which, throughout this erotically charged story, offer an intimate portrait of mellifluous, ambivalent sexuality. As the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor is about to melt down near John's hometown, an earthquake rocks Oaxaca, sending a geyser high above the desert floor - like the wellspring of poetry that resonates within the young poet - sending forth the spirits of Donne, Keats, Rimbaud, Whitman, Garcia Lorca, and Neruda."--BOOK JACKET.