By the Numbers

Poetry. For James Richardson, poetry is serious and speculative play for both intellect and imagination. By the Numbers is striking for its range of line and movement, for its microlyrics, crypto-quatrains, "ten-second essays," and the twist and snap of aphorisms. Drawing from myriad fables?Ovidian, Shakespearean, georgic, and scientific?Richardson makes familiar scenes strange enough to provoke new and startling insights.