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By turns metaphysical and
particularly present and accounted for, Paul
Naylor weaves a work of exquisite measure in Arranging Nature.
Exchanges
betwen terse, declarative prose and cryptogrammatical verse conduce
to an
abidingly long view, the longest view, deep and wide as well.
Odic,
diaristic, playful, prayerful: a rich, mutliply-aspected book.
—Nathaniel Mackey
What is the meaning of nature in the wake of 9/11? Have we arranged
nature
so successfully that entropy replaces Arcadia? In these brilliant,
sensuous
poems, Paul Naylor stays "attuned to heartsharp ear"
as though to
reconnect words to stone, syntax to landscape, and thus through
language
make matter matter. It is a considerable accomplishment.
—Michael Davidson
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Paul Naylor's
books of poetry include Playing Well With
Others (Singing Horse Press, 2004) and Book of Changes (Quarry
Press, 2000). He is also the author of Poetic Investigations:
Singing the Holes in History (Northwestern University Press, 1999),
a study of five contemporary poets. His poems and essays have
appeared in Boston Review, Boxkite, Contemporary Literature, Cross-Cultural
Poetics, Golden Handcuffs Review, Hambone, New American Writing,
New Orleans Review, and Postmodern Culture.
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