Sensual, honest, often humorous, and as intimate as a confession, the poems in this volume illuminate the struggle for self-definition and the journey of an exile. Weaving multiple narratives together, this work focuses on the delicate relationship between place and identity. While likening herself to the Roman poet Ovid and the traveling painter Gauguin and recounting a doomed romantic relationship, Bishop deals with her own hopes of home and her perceptions of otherness. Ultimately, these poems confront the need to rearrange both the words on page and the self.