In "Air for Mercury," Hillman depicts a society that mourns the loss of its religious faith. In Death Tractates (1992), Hillman explores the issues of loss and separation in general. Hillman wrote these poems after losing a very close friend of hers.

In "Air for Mercury," society becomes more chaotic as people lose religious faith. On a similar note, Hillman's Fortress (1989) depicts people that struggle with many issues, including the question of art, economic problems, and failure.

Like Cascadia, Hillman's Loose Sugar (1997) includes poems that examine an aspect of time. Unlike Cascadia, however, which focuses on time and change, Loose Sugar focuses on time's role in language and comprehension. The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

John McPhee's modern classic Assembling California (1993) takes readers on a journey with McPhee and geologist Eldridge Moores. Along the way...