The World Between the Eyes

Book excerpt: Although Fred Chappell has long been recognized 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.