echniques can be seen in the two books under discussion.
             Michael Delville discusses what he calls the American prose poem, a term that could include elements in the book by Winterson, and he cites Stéphane Mallarmé on the pervasiveness of verse in prose as in poetry:
             Verse is everywhere in language where there is rhythm, everywhere, except on posters and page four of the newspapers. In the genre which we call prose there is verse of every conceivable rhythm, some of it admirable. But in reality there is no prose: there is the alphabet, and then there are verse forms, more or less rigid, more or less diffuse. In every attempt at style there is versification. (cited by Delville 1)
             This also helps explain why so many critics find a writer like Thomas Wolfe to write prose that is highly poetic, for Wolfe is clearly a stylist and seeks ways to express himself in a careful choice of language. Delville also cites a definition of the prose poem as follows:
             A composition able to have any or all the features of the lyric, except that it is put on the page--though not conceived of--as prose. It differs from poetic prose in that it is short and compact, from free verse in that it has no line breaks, from a short prose passage in that it has, usually, more pronounced rhythms, sonorous effects, imagery, and density of expression. It may contain even inner rhyme and metrical runs. Its length, generally, is from half a page (one or two paragraphs) to three or four pages, i.e., that of the average lyrical poem. If it is any longer, the tensions and impact are forfeited, and it becomes--more or less poetic--prose. The term "prose poem" has been applied irresponsibly to anything from the Bible to a novel by Faulkner, but should be used only to designate a highly conscious (sometimes even self-conscious) art form. (Delville 2)
             The fact that the precise definition might not be applicable to a novel by Faulkner, or by Winterson, d...