Here, together for the first time, are Wright's previously published collections -- The Homecoming Singer (1971), Soothsayers and Omens (1976), Explications/Interpretations (1984), Dimensions of History (1976), The Double Invention of Komo (1980), Elaine's Book (1988), and Boleros (1991) -- along with the new poems of Transformations (1997). By presenting Wright's work as a whole, this collection reveals the powerfulconsistency of his theme -- a spiritual or intellectual quest for personal development -- as each book builds solidly upon the previous one.

Wright examines history from a multicultural perspective, attempting to conquer a sense of exclusion -- from society and his own cultural identity -- and find solace and accord by linking American society to African traditions. He believes that a poem must articulate the vital rhythms of the culture it depicts and is dedicated to a pursuit of poetic forms that embody the cadence of African American culture. In "The Albuquerque Graveyard", he offers a poignant elegy to victims of slavery's Middle Passage and also reveals the purpose of his poetry.to the Black limbo,

an unwritten history

of our own tensions.

The dead lie here

in a hierarchy of small defeats.

Defying characterization, Wright has experimented with voices, languages, cultures, and f