A striking new collection by a poet W. S. Merwin calls "gifted, audacious, and accomplished."

A prolific journalist, Merrill's most recent work, two non-fiction books on the crisis in the Balkans, have received tremendous critical acclaim. With this collection, he returns for the first time in seven years to the form closest to his heart: poetry. "No anxiety of influence prevails here; nor is there evidence of a desire to follow any models too closely. Rather, there is a generosity that names names, offers praise, then contributes something new. Merrill lives in a landscape of names, surrounded by eloquent scraps of language allowing him to chant the senses' progress through the world.--John Elder, The Los Angeles Times

Christopher Merrill is Director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.