This is not only a point of pride for the writer but also the primary distinction of his work. Maxwell's technical prowess has been praised in major publications by the likes of William Logan, Adam Kirsch, and Langdon Hammer. He carries a charge passed down by his mentor Derek Walcott as well as Thom Gunn, Richard Wilbur, and Joseph Brodsky . . . One Thousand Nights and Counting, Maxwell's new edition of selected poems, reveals first and foremost the powerful music that guides his poetry. It also uncovers a singular obsession--which acts as the focus of and inspiration for most of Maxwell's poems--with the past.” Daniel Evans Pritchard, Idiom