Unique in form and subject matter, Frank Stanford was a poet of great vision and power. While his verse may seem random and vulgar at first glance, The Light the Dead See stunned me with its familiarity with Death as a companion and friend. With this in mind, it seems no wonder that Stanford eventually felt compelled to take his own life.

Stanford's poetry is without bounds. The imagery he puts forth concerning the backwaters of rural America gave me chills, not because it was frightening, but because it illustrated the truth about the often violent and arbitrary turns of chance rule the lives of many of us.

This book is not to be missed. It could very well change the way you look at poetry.

Southern poetry is synonymous with a realistic view of a world, a world sometimes hard and harsh as the lives of many of its poets. This anthology, now in its second edition, provides one of the finest resources for people interested in contemporary poetry.

Dr. Leon Stokesbury, long-time English professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta, includes an expanded list of poets numbering sixty-six, twelve more than in the 1987 edition. Several poets from the first edition did not make the current volume. No particular school or style of poetry writing dominates, and the poems are as varied as the poets themselves.

Each author's photograph is included, as well as a short biography; the numbers of poems range from three to eight per poet. Some of America's greatest contemporary poets are anthologized, Miller Williams, Wendell Berry, James Dickey, Fred Chappell, Dave Smith, George Garrett, Henry Taylor, David Bottoms, John Stone, Alice Walker, Donald Justice, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Robert Penn Warren.

With The Made Thing, Stokesbury has given readers a fine resource useful for reflection, enjoyment, and even a tool for the poet's desk. Spending time reading this collection is a joy for lovers of poetry and lovers of the South.

stokesbury has put together a wonderful collection of the best of the contemporary southern poets. all of them are here: Dickey, Yusef Komunyakaa, Miller Williams, R.S. Gwynn, Alice Walker, Wendell Berry, Fred Chappell, Jarman, Hudgins, Jim Hall, as well as many other southern poets. it's a great collection for anyone interested in contemporary poetry.

Leon Stokesbury's anthology of Southern Poetry is defined not just by geography but by style. The careful selections made by Stokesbury help the literary reader study and appreciate Southern poetry. They also help the non-literary reader study and appreciate the South.

Fans of Southern prose writers such as Harry Crews, Faulkner or Wolfe should find The Made Thing a rewarding experience.

Beware, though. You'll find yourself out buying anthologies of James Dickey and Robert Warren and all the rest. At last you may be broke and alone with your books, writing sad southern tales of struggle and death in the natural world you have come to own.

i tried to like this collection, i really did. it came highly recommended to me by a poet that i respect and whose work i like. but stokesbury just couldn't impress me. most of his poems were confusing, rambling, and just weren't coherent. there were a few clever poems, and "Evening's End" is a great poem, definately his best. the collection is weak, but this poem alone makes it worthy to pick up a copy. and you'll find a few other gems in the collection.

Chatty,self-involved, too clever by half, these poems are trying to playfully approach serious subjects, but he can't quite get there. Stokesbury seems a poignant example of our involuted poetry culture.

Autumn Rhythm is the co-winner of the 1997 Poets' Prize. Stokesbury will share this year's award with Sydney Lea.