Maj Ragain is the author of seven chapbooks of poetry and five book-length collections, all of which contribute to Clouds Pile Up in the North: New & Selected Poems. William Pitt Root, editor, Silver Concho Poetry Series, says, "One way or another Maj Ragain is going to touch you as you read his work. And you're going to like it. He may get you in the funny bone or you may find out for yourself that he sports the Tenderest Knock-Out Punch in the world. He can also wield a pole axe: mainly he chooses to shuttle back and forth between gravitas and what Raymond Carver in his last days called gravy."