Johnson writes in the introduction, "These poems are listenings, as poems must listen and sing simultaneously. They are a progression of hearings of Mahler's 'Song of the Earth' on records, in concert, and in my head."The only difference between this disavowed edition and the regular edition that is also held by the Sackner Archive is the inclusion of one rather than three blank pages at the end of the book. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.