World Between the Eyes

Although Fred Chappell has long been recognised as a novelist of talent and achievement, his poetry has been known to only a few because he has chosen to publish little. Now, in this collection, his work becomes widely available for the first time.The subjects of these poems range from the poet's love for his wife and son to that hallowed American institution, the skin flick; from baseball to blues. From ""Trios II"" to the slaughter of pigs. Their forms vary from short lyrics, often humorous or ironic, to longer narratives, more serious and intense. All in all, it is a stunning performance by a consummate artist in his first appearance.

It is hardly usual for a first book to contain so many poems that bowl one over with the power and authority . . . a very fine book.--X.J. Kennedy

Fred Chappell is the author of twenty-six books of poetry, fiction, and critical commentary. His most recent collection was Shadow Box. A native of Canton in the mountains of western North Carolina, he taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro from 1964 to 2004 and was the Poet Laureate of North Carolina from 1997 to 2002. He and his wife, Susan, live in Greensboro.