Out there in the Atlantic between Europe and America, in the midst of often rough seas, the nine islands of the Azores rise above the surface, constantly transformed by overactive volcanoes and shaken by earthquakes. As John Updike observed, the islands of the archipelago resemble "Great green ships themselves," as "they ride at anchor forever; beneath the tide." In The Sea Within, George Monteiro and OnEsimo T. Almeida bring together a diverse collection of poems that showcase the ocean's central presence in Azorean life and culture.