Thoughtful, comic, and tragic, these essays explore subjects ranging from poetry to philosophy, photography, politics, and art to Simic’s childhood in a war-torn Belgrade. Simic now lives in New York - this book offers an intimate look into the life and mind of an immigrant. This book confirms that Charles Simic is not only one of our finest poets, but a singularly engaging, eminently sane American essayist. A cultivation of awe! “Awe is my religion, and mystery is its church,” he declares. In these essays, the range is impressive, covering visual art, blues, jazz, food, politics, cities, and all types of literature. Especially strong are his sympathetic biographical essays on certain writers who led tragic lives or took extreme aesthetic positions, such as Marina Tsvetaeva, E.M. Cioran, and Witold Gombrowicz.