Indistinguishable from the Darkness: Poems By Charlie Smith

W.W. Norton & Company, 1991. Lt. shelf wear. Pages good. Smith's first collection, Red Roads , was characterized in these pages as "quietly lyrical yet emotionally hard-hitting" ( LJ 4/1/87). The same can be said of his second, which further employs the meditative mode to describe a world "where beauty is unexplainable/ and suddenly ruined." Though these carefully measured, slowly paced poems occupy the "domesticated life/ of tea and speculation," one often senses chaos at their peripheries. Doubt and confusion, even despair, can be springboards to enlightenment: "to become known/ we must become unknown; the way out, I have learned,/ is through." Smith's imagery (mostly natural) is vivid, his diction eloquent without being pompous or precious, his sense of humor subtle. 92 pages. Number written at back page, lt. discoloration at bottom edge.. Soft Cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book.