I am by no means an expert on the realm of poetry, but as long as I can remember I’ve had a deep affinity for the way words push against and abrade one another.  Particularly, how a mixture of sounds and meaning become compounded to erect phrases, passages, and chapters of memorable splendor.  In my mind, it’s what separates the true writers from the people who simply communicate with words and it’s also what informs my very favorite authors.  In this tradition arrives ‘Crucial Sprawl,’ the second book of poetry by Raymond Cummings.  He wields a powerful voice with passion, subtlety, and precision that is worth visiting time and again.

I had the pleasure to provide a quotation of early praise for the book, and months later upon the book’s release my enthusiasm for Ray’s words have only grown.  Read excerpts from and purchase a copy of ‘Crucial Sprawl’ here.

Tags: Raymond Cummings

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 at 12:04 pm and is filed under Book. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.