Paul Vangelisti, Two
ISBN-13: 978-1-58498-077-3, paper, $14.95
"InTwo, Paul Vangelisti connects the antipodes of the extraordinaryliterary geography he has been creating through the course of his numerous previous works. Taken separately or together, the diptych of Two finds Paul Vangelisti at the height of his poetic, intellectual and philosophical powers. Simply put, there are precious few poets writing now who can match Vangelisti’s brilliance." —Dennis Phillips
"A series of dense and giddy alphabet poems here combine with a series of prose letters written to the poet Adriano Spatola, ghost and counterpart, in an effort to wrestle with history—personal, international, poetic, and quotidian. All address an
America decayed and degraded in a prophetic voice of bemusement, horror, and high jinks. Although world-weary, the poet
invokes both evil and the projected promised land, utilizingreferences that include La Vita Nuova, the Cantos, epistolary novels, the architecture of church and church service, and one’s own shadowy house (including the aging body). All to provide
maps of a sort for all us, the ‘lost dogs’ having lost our way and wandering about Los Angeles and the world. What is comic in Vangelisti’s work is also what should make citizens weep; as he quotes in one piece: “‘Christ’s’ concluded the priest, ‘is the
kingdom of heaven and dearth.’” —Martha Ronk
Paul Vangelisti is the author of more than twenty books of poetry, as well as being a noted translator from Italian. He is Founding Chair of the Graduate Writing program at Otis College of Art & Design.
"InTwo, Paul Vangelisti connects the antipodes of the extraordinaryliterary geography he has been creating through the course of his numerous previous works. Taken separately or together, the diptych of Two finds Paul Vangelisti at the height of his poetic, intellectual and philosophical powers. Simply put, there are precious few poets writing now who can match Vangelisti’s brilliance." —Dennis Phillips
"A series of dense and giddy alphabet poems here combine with a series of prose letters written to the poet Adriano Spatola, ghost and counterpart, in an effort to wrestle with history—personal, international, poetic, and quotidian. All address an
America decayed and degraded in a prophetic voice of bemusement, horror, and high jinks. Although world-weary, the poet
invokes both evil and the projected promised land, utilizingreferences that include La Vita Nuova, the Cantos, epistolary novels, the architecture of church and church service, and one’s own shadowy house (including the aging body). All to provide
maps of a sort for all us, the ‘lost dogs’ having lost our way and wandering about Los Angeles and the world. What is comic in Vangelisti’s work is also what should make citizens weep; as he quotes in one piece: “‘Christ’s’ concluded the priest, ‘is the
kingdom of heaven and dearth.’” —Martha Ronk
Paul Vangelisti is the author of more than twenty books of poetry, as well as being a noted translator from Italian. He is Founding Chair of the Graduate Writing program at Otis College of Art & Design.