Publisher's Synopsis
These are poems written between 1957 and 2010. Many of the shorter ones were published in various magazines; most of the longer and, I think, more important ones appear here for the first time. My poems are not intended to entertain, though I hope they will be enjoyed. They are intended to be epistemological explorations. Like theology and mathematics, poetry is a system for manipulating abstract symbols in order to generate maps of possible realities. Poetry is also a music for the solo voice. Hence the musical aspects of poetry--rhyme, meter, scansion, stanza farms--are essential disciplines, just as music theory and notation are for a musician. They are also fun to play with. I write about many things: love, sex, faith, cosmology, consciousness, religion . . . and whatever else I happen to find interesting.
