In Executive Summary lyrical monologues slip through their nets. Immediacy separates consistency. Sound shapes, "those syllable oars," brawl and sail. American translation emits stammar grammar. A buried narrative lies. When the betrothed irrational meets the cornfed rational nesting takes wing. Verbal circuitry crosses currencies and shatters units. Bruce Andrews continues to write some of the most original and unsettling poetry I know of.
--Susan Howe

Executive Summary comprises about a third of Bruce Andrews' writing from 1969 to 1973. These early writings are remarkably consistent with his better known recent works. A straight line of development runs between them. Here he uses all levels of language, from word fragments to sentences; formats from left-margin verse to fields and constellations; and many dictions, from formal English to American folksy-colloquial; but he focuses primarily on phrase relations. Some pieces have no obvious content other than the language itself; others engage seemingly Native American themes; and there's even a "western." But every word manifests concentrated attention to every aspect of language: sound, rhythm, meaning, and--manifoldly--"syntax." An enlivening achievement for any writer, but especially impressive for one who divides his active life between literature, music, and political science.
--Jackson Mac Low