North True South Bright

the long version

“Grounded in history and nature, this smart, lyrical first collection explores the dangers of a world so complex that no single consciousness may grasp it—however much the attempt must be made. Following historical and imagined figures as they encounter specific moments or objects (such as Thomas Hariot in the American Wilderness of the late 16th century), the poems attempt to record the unraveling of the safe and singular into a multiplicity of unknowns. Impelled by metaphor and lilting repetition, <em>North True South Bright</em> seeks a sense of the world, and ultimately, a sense of the Infinite. “. . .quirky and original.” —<em>Fence</em> “Best Books by Emerging Writers fall 2003” “These poems appear before us with the urgency of prayer, the fever pitch of a spell being cast, and the desire to comprehend the mysteries of language. A unique and fascinating book of poems.” —<em>Ploughshares</em> “<em>North True South Bright</em> deliberately avoids easy idealisms by insisting that language can mediate, but never fully coalesce with, or pierce, the external world.” —<em>FreeVerse</em>