Most of this book was written in Shreveport, Louisiana. The poems about foreign countries and citieswith the exception of the two poems about Russiawere written in Los Angeles. The book is not as personal as my Among Possibilities, nor as analytical as Landscapes of Existenceit is somewhere in between. Most of the poems were inspired by my life in the South, but because of my background the book has a cosmopolitan flavor to it, too. For this reason, I consider it one of the most original poetry books ever written. And I hope that my readers would enjoy this book for its originality, its spectrum of emotions and mood swings, and its poetic and intellectual goodwill.