A bouillon cube (literally), a conceptual cube (seven sections of seven poems, with each poem composed of seven seven-syllable lines) and at the same time a “flip-book” of verbal snapshots of life in Paris in the late 20th century: its tourists, its homeless, its politicians, its TV news, its poetry, its pigeons. Alferi's tightly coiled syntax unravels each one like a puzzle that slowly accrues to a finely nuanced image.

Pierre Alferi was born and lives in Paris. He began publishing philosophical essays, Guillaume d’Ockham, Le singulier and Chercher une phrase. He has since written four books of poetry, Les Allures naturelles (1991), Le Chemin familier du poisson combatif (1992), our present volume, Kub Or (1994), and Sentimentale journée (1997), as well as two novels, Fmn (1994) and Le cinéma des familles (1999). Recently he has been working in short film and video (Films parlants/cinépoèmes, DVD, 2003). Two new books, a collection of essays titled Des Enfants et des monstres and a collection of poems titled La Voie des airs will be published by P.O.L in 2004.

Sun & Moon has published Natural Gaits in Cole Swensen’s translation.

Cole Swensen’s recent books include Noon (Sun & Moon Press, 1997; New American Writing Award), Try (University of Iowa, 1999; Iowa Poetry Prize + San Francisco State Poetry Center Book Award),Oh (Apogee Press, 2000) and Such Rich Hour (University of Iowa, 2001).