April 18, 2012, Wednesday - Graywolf Press Publication Reading: D.A. Powell at The Loft

Time:  7:00pm

Location:  The Loft, 1011 Washington Avenue South

Graywolf Press Publication Reading: D.A. Powell

In D.A. Powell’s fifth book of poetry, the rollicking line he has made his signature becomes the taut, more discursive means to describing beauty, singing a dirge, directing an ironic smile or questioning who in any given setting is the instructor and who is the pupil. This is a book that explores the darker side of divisions and developments, which shows how the interstitial spaces of boonies, backstage, bathhouse or bar are locations of desire. With Powell’s witty banter, emotional resolve and powerful lyricism, this collection demonstrates his exhilarating range.

“Powell has now turned the corner from promising new poet into established power. [Useless Landscape] condenses his obsessions into poems clearer and more compact than ever, some scathing and others comedic, some based on life stories and others built on puns. . . . Powell, with his range of form and line, his dark but vivid humor, and his commitment to Romantic traditions, is set apart. . . . This book will belong on many lists of the year’s best.” - Publishers Weekly.

D. A. Powell is the author of five collections of poetry, including Chronic, winner of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His honors include the Gold Medal in Poetry from the California Commonwealth Club, as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He lives in San Francisco. Free and open to the public.