Book excerpt: An epic poem in the form of a lyrical map, Fossil Sky is a remarkable creation of originality and beauty. Composed on a single large sheet, it liberates poetry from the conventions of page and book. Fossil Sky distills a year of walks taken near the poet’s home, tracing the paths a mind takes through landscape, history, and ideation. The poem’s formal daring is combined with an inviting and direct personal voice, an inner voice adrift—broken up by landscape, space, time and silence. David Hinton’s many translations of ancient Chinese poetry have earned wide acclaim for creating compelling contemporary poetry. He has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as numerous fellowships from the NEA and the NEH.