" What a hive of feeling, thinking activity this book is . This is one of the least boring books of poems I've read in a long time . Cole's sonnet is a form both economical and maximal, which, through both artifice and resistance to artifice, feels and makes you feel, thinks and makes you think ." --Daisy Fried, The New York Times Book Review " This volume of sonnets by one of the form's most distinctive practitioners calibrates tensions between mind and body, nature and culture, self and society, freedom and restraint . the poems feel at once delphic and deeply personal , mapping the thin and porous membrane between the author's inner and outer worlds." -- The New Yorker "For all the tightness and rigidity the sonnet form sometimes suggests, [Cole] is remarkable for how he lets in the light . These sonnets don't let formal restriction inhibit the flow of emotion and heart . Beautiful, searing work .

" --Andrew McMillan, Poetry "These sonnets embody all the best qualities of this poet's enviable economy of language, evocative imagery, wicked turns of phrase, and sheer lyrical genius . That Cole manages to range the wide spectrum of human experience within the 14 lines of the sonnet is testament both to the poet's craft and the form itself." --Diego Báez, Booklist (Starred Review) "Henri Cole brings memory and emotion to life on the page in Gravity and Center . Landscapes of earth, sky, and water are the backdrop for emotions and desire, punctuated with unique fragrances and tastes that bring life to their sonnet form . Each one of the sonnets in this collection, taken from the last thirty years of his work, has his signature: raw, powerful, gritty emotion encased in elegant prose, each one unique, apart from their structure. " --Janet Rodriguez, The Rumpus "There's no easy resolution in this showcase of Cole's subtle and evocative rendering of the human experience ." -- Publishers Weekly.