Since Brouwer's first published book is only two years old as of this writing, a true historical perspective on his work, when it can be measured against the events of its time in a broader scope, is several years away. However, one can speculate fairly safely on the cultural, political, and social occurrences, as well as on the acts of some now notorious individuals, that could cause a poet to refer to the world in which he lives as a "stagnant ditch between nothing / and nothing." The last few years of the twentieth century were filled with news stories of unprecedented violence on American soil as well as continued conflicts in timeworn trouble spots across the globe. Problems between Israel and Palestine were nothing new in 1995, but in that year, Israel was shocked by violence within its own ranks when a young Jewish student assassinated Prime...