Don Skiles: 2 books

This powerful character-driven tale follows Larry Simmons through several life-changing events as 1957 looms on the horizon. Should he continue his athletic aspirations? Will he be inspired by more poetry? What does high school mean to him? And what is happening with Cameron Mitchell?

Most of the pieces in Rain After Midnight can be thought of as filmic, as "long story short." The shortness of the form works, like the compression required in a good poem. There are four distinct groupings or sets of stories:  One set has to do with film, cinema, movies; a second springs...