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Locative inversion, one aspect of word order in English discourse in which the positions of verb and noun phrase are inverted (e.g., "in front of the house is a tree"), is examined. It is argued that inversions after deictic adverbs and those after non-deictic, locative constituents are related, both representing devices: (1) expressing point of view in discourse and establishing a particular perspective of the speaker, and (2) serving to organize the discourse. On one hand, inversions can temporarily add a perspective of immediacy to the description of an actual scene or event, thereby setting apart the reproduction of this scene from another functional part of the event. Alternatively, when the immediacy produced is from within the author's own discourse organization, inversions help signal that the author provides topical orientation or an evaluation. Contains 17 references. (MSE)