Equivalents

Poetry. "These poems are evidence of a mind that emits thought the way a quick-spinning, millisecond pulsar emits radio waves—with devastating precision. They form a record of incisive looking, and of the tumultuous perceptions sight provokes. They are lyric paradoxes, mostly packaged in prose boxes. They imitate the speed of light and yet, if we look up when we're told to, we find we're standing still while everything that can be observed rushes behind us. They are perfect examples of how well the lyric mode can succinctly interrogate existence. They are distinctive, inventive, intrepid, and discerning. Their rebellious intelligence is irrefutable—I found myself saying 'yes' to every word."—Mary Jo Bang

Jessica Baran teaches at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art, Washington University, St. Louis, and is the art writer for the Riverfront Times. She is the author of EQUIVALENTS (Lost Roads Publishers, 2013) and REMAINS TO BE USED (Apostrophe Books, 2010).