John Koethe is a professor of philosophy; one comes to his work expecting a good dose of philosophy and one is not disappointed.

The poems in "North Point North" are wistful, and sad. They are somehow both removed and concrete. The author has included special notes on their chronology. The images in the earlier ones are more evocative, more substantial, than in the later ones. Time and memory are important themes.

For the average reader, the value in these poems will be that they echo those periods when each of us feels hopeless, listless or unconnected. We felt that way even when we were young--if we stopped long enough to consider our emotions then—and their presence becomes more pronounced as we age. If we follow Koethe’s lead, we will not deny these thoughts—then and now, now and then--for who are we if not what we think?

Koethe himself says "disappointment surrounds these poems." And yet there is enlightenment in this book because his poetry is proof that when we think these thoughts, we are not alone. In spite of the melancholy, "North Point North" is an affirmation.

Koethe also says that words "still pass (es) for celebration…" In the words between the covers of this book, there is a both an absence of celebration and a commemoration. Funny how a poet/philosopher can do that. Deny the very thing he is confirming.