Flares

Christopher Merrill has published six collections of poetry, including Watch Fire, for which he received the Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets; many edited volumes and translations; and six books of nonfiction, among them, Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars, Things of the Hidden God: Journey to the Holy Mountain, The Tree of the Doves: Ceremony, Expedition, War, and Self-Portrait with Dogwood. As director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa since 2000, Merrill has conducted cultural diplomacy missions to more than fifty countries.

Contents In Petra Lodge Gothic Explain Yourself After Visiting the Gorky Institute Venom Flare Roundabout Fall and Recovery In Algiers Fire On the War Between the States Ivory The Pastoral Tradition Market Conditions The Gold Standard In the Galápagos Islands The Monroe Doctrine The Last Supper Juice Oligarchy Nomadic The Afterlife Excavation The Final Act From the Archives Sin Sports The Stage Without Voltage The Orchard The Festival The Brooch The Fish Market in Guangzhou Mirrors Stew Faith The Wedding Home Paprika From the Memory Ward Elevator The Rise On Gnosticism Cheddar Gorge Inventory The Bench Two-Star Hotel Providence Ritual The Crisis Auld Lang Syne Dead Letter The Word In Unison Translation (1) Translation (2) The Zoo Without Objection The Concert The Handkerchief The Odds Genesis Portage The Census Meantime Proverbs (1) Proverbs (2) Hell-bent In the City of K. The Harvest Return Visit Notes for a Dance Stage Presence The Kiss Brick Clay Utopia Lilacs The River