Poetry. African American Studies. Philosophy. Essays. Now available as a second edition with a new preface from the author, Will Alexander's TOWARDS THE PRIMEVAL LIGHTNING FIELD (O Books, 1998) is a work of "vertical philosophy" revealing the strata of cultures and language, like geographical layers seen all at once. These essays comprise Alexander's "search for origins outside the warrens of the visible, " revealing a singular imagination that moves with the force of a manifesto and the impossible dexterity of the unknown. Described by Eliot Weinberger as "probably the only African-American poet to take Aime Cesaire as a spiritual father, " Alexander's singular voice resonates far past the constrictions of the rational world.