Understanding Charles Wright

Book excerpt: "In this first book-length study of Charles Wright's extensive body of work, Joe Moffett offers an introduction to the books and themes that have defined the poet's illustrious career." "Wright's major work centers around a lengthy self-described "trilogy of trilogies" project in which each volume is a collection of poems stemming from a different trio of books. In his study of each segment of the trilogy, Moffett finds Wright returning to the distinctive landscape and culture of his native Appalachia in poetic quests for spiritual meaning. Moffett concludes with a survey of Wright's three subsequent volumes of poetry as a continuation of the poetic style and dialogue between southern landscapes and divine influences that defined the poet's earlier trilogies."--BOOK JACKET.