Synopses & Reviews
In his 10th book, renowned prose poet Gonzalez proclaims he is at the crossroads in [his] throat where he looks both ways. Gonzalez is as quirky as ever, matching the didactic tone and jargon of a scientist with the sensibilities of artists like Kenneth Rexroth, Hart Crane and Picasso, among others, who walk in and out of the poems."
--Publishers Weekly
Fusing the real with the surreal and the natural world with human relationships, Ray Gonzalez creates his own brand of magical realism. Gonzalez also brings pop humor in such poems as “The Guitars,” which uses the word “guitar” in almost every sentence to talk about the true (and not so true) lives of rock stars. David Lazar notes, “Ray Gonzalez may be our most essential prose poet.”
Ray Gonzalez’s awards include the 2003 Minnesota Literary Award for Poetry, and the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Book Award. He has published nine poetry collections and edited twelve anthologies, including No Boundaries: Prose Poems by 24 American Poets.
Synopsis
Cool Auditor features Ray Gonzalez's particular brand of magical realism. His vision of the natural world, human relationships, and the difficulties of language reveals itself in memorable and surprising ways in every poem. Loose and circumfluent, this collection of prose poems employs rich imagery and repetition of phrase and sound to create a seemingly-effortless incantatory power. Humor also plays a large role in these prose poems. His rollicking poem "Affordable Aphorisms" features many bright, humorous insights, including "If you had a normal childhood, your biographers will label it The Age of Reason." and "To exile yourself in writing is to wear the wrong deodorant for years." However, this levity is always counter-balanced by his deep empathy with his subjects, with animals, humans, and their surroundings. Ray Gonzalez's poetry reminds us that the mysteries of the everyday may not be solved, but through the careful use of syllable and silence they might reveal, if only momentarily, their totemic power.
Synopsis
In his 10th book, renowned prose poet Gonzalez proclaims he is at the crossroads in his] throat where he looks both ways. Gonzalez is as quirky as ever, matching the didactic tone and jargon of a scientist with the sensibilities of artists like Kenneth Rexroth, Hart Crane and Picasso, among others, who walk in and out of the poems.
--Publishers Weekly
Fusing the real with the surreal and the natural world with human relationships, Ray Gonzalez creates his own brand of magical realism. Gonzalez also brings pop humor in such poems as The Guitars, which uses the word guitar in almost every sentence to talk about the true (and not so true) lives of rock stars. David Lazar notes, Ray Gonzalez may be our most essential prose poet.
Ray Gonzalez's awards include the 2003 Minnesota Literary Award for Poetry, and the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Book Award. He has published nine poetry collections and edited twelve anthologies, including No Boundaries: Prose Poems by 24 American Poets.
Synopsis
A new prose poem collection by award-winning poet and master surrealist Ray Gonzalez.
About the Author
Ray Gonzalez has authored numerous books of poetry, non-fiction, and fiction, and edited twelve anthologies. He is poetry editor for The Bloomsbury Review, and founding editor of the poetry journal Luna. He is a full professor in the MFA Creative Writing Program at The University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.