This collection of poetry by the editor of EXPANSIVE POETRY, focuses on life in New York-in language alternately hip, and nostalgic, the ten characters in "Nomads" focus on abortion, divorce, the forces threatening the neighborhoods, and the need to preserve the family; in "The Psychiatrist At the Cocktail Party: A Dramatic Sequence," Feirstein presents in formal verse a hilarious, and disturbing cast of urban professionals, sexual bandits, opportunists and international terrorists.Story Line Press was created in 1985 by Robert McDowell and Mark Jarman, two young poets who wanted to create a home for new work that might not be published by mainstream commercial or academic presses. Story Line soon gained an international reputation as an independent-minded press that championed narrative and formal poetry, innovative anthologies, and criticism written in a public voice rather than academic style. The press also had a strong allegiance to West Coast writers. Despite its limited resources, Story Line became one of the most influential literary presses of the era publishing a mix of new and established writers including Donald Justice, Rita Dove, Christian Wiman, Donald Hall, David Mason, Amy Uyematsu, and Weldon Kees.