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Essays, Manifestos, Statements, Speeches, Maxims, Epistles, Diaristic Jottings, Narratives, Natural histories, Poems, Plays, Performances, Ramblings, Revelations, and all such ephemera as may appear necessary to bring society into a slight tremolo of confusion and fright at least.

New and Selected Poems

Charles North

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A Sun & Moon title.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Schuyler wrote of Charles North's poetry: "His joy in words, and the things words adumbrate, is infectious: we catch a contagion of enlightenment. To me, he is the most stimulating poet of his generation."

Over the years since North's first published work, Lineups in 1972, fellow poets and critics have concurred that North's poetry is one of "beautiful availability," that is interested in (as the poet puts it) "Playing off expectations, in both small and large ways."

This book includes work from all of North's major publications—Lineups, Elizabethan & Nova Scotian Music, Six Buildings, Leap Year: Poems 1968-1978, and The Year of the Olive Oil—as well as new poetry.

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What the critics have written:

"A brilliant little book. North proves by example that any quantitative category of qualitatively diverse units—movies, colors, diseases, etc.—can be subjected to the subtle yet ineluctable analysis of temperament that determines a baseball player's optimum position in the field and place in the batting order."
—Peter Schjeldahl, The Village Voice (on Lineups)

"A gorgeous book. Ultimately, the most refreshing thing about the works is how a wonderful sensibility shines through the experimentation, ingenuity, and abstract lyricism. They depend on what Pound meant by 'the quality of the affection.' They are often very personal and yet don't rely on an unrelieved seriousness or egocentric point of view."
—Paul Violi, Poetry Project Newsletter (on Leap Year)

"North's wit, exuberance and unfailingly elegant syntax make him one of the most memorable of contemporary poets. The Year of the Olive Oil is a delight from beginning to end."
—John Ash, Washington Post Book World (on The Year of the Olive Oil)