Language speaks.
A pear is both itself and another ship.
Turn not pale, beloved snail-what is interesting
is at best of limited importance, forks
the least threatening aspect.
A shoe without langue will not last, for it's
uncertainty shod. A green saucer.
Pressed cogs of a known coinage. Cleft
pseuds to knoll.


from `I Have a Paintbrush in My Hand to Colour a Triangle'

Compositional Bonbons Placate, Miles Champion's first full-length collection, is the work of a poet continually finding new directions, new methods. His concern with a poetry in which the signifier is not overwhelmed by the signified suggests L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry, yet the poems-while not conventional-are always emotionally accessible, exploring a range of forms through language poignant but unabashed. The poetry of Tom Raworth and John Ashbery is a visible influence; other pieces take their bearings from the work of Ted Berrigan, Clark Coolidge, Ray DiPalma. Champion never imitates: everything is made new, becomes grist for the dialectical mill.