He is, however, enough of a European to know that affirmation means different things to different people, for "under torture heads nod Yes to life and No to death". This gives a sombre frame to the ecstatic wordscape of "Pleasuring Sunday", one of the longest and finest poems in this impressive book [Love of the Scorching Wind]. Nagy is at his best when he has room to sustain a theme among rapidly oscillating moods and images of simplicity under attack. The four long poems in this book—"Pleasuring Sunday", the title poem, "Wedding" and "Sky and Earth"—eulogize a rural ethic while recognizing its limitations.