Christopher's books--poetry and prose alike--have the flavor of dreams, and this book is no different. The stand-out here is the long sequence which ends the book, "Night Journal: a poem in 35 entries". Readers of his A Trip to the Stars will feel the same lyrical, journeying mode at play here, albeit in much shorter form, but some of its beauty comes in the way that his characters are more figures of shadow and silhouettes than fully-discovered persons or subjects. There's both a distance and an intimacy to them, and the entries are rather magical as they pull together into what he writes (as introduction) is a sort of story in itself that nevertheless became far more personal than a true journal might have.

And that's some of the magic of his poetry and his prose. However fictional or created they may be, they ring as if they're written for the reader, driving at personal truths and delivering up ideas that were only waiting for the right reason to arise.

I nearly always find his worlds and his words a little bit magical. And while I don't adore his poetry quite so much as I adore his prose (such as A Trip to the Stars, which I'll always recommend and recommend over again), this little collection was no different.

Recommended to poetry lovers and to Nicholas Christopher fans. ( )