Book overview
Spanning four published volumes and visionary new poems, this definitive collection reveals the raw power and grace of Denis Johnson's verse.
This comprehensive volume brings together the complete texts of The Man Among the Seals, Inner Weather, The Incognito Lounge, and The Veil.
Across these pages, Johnson traces an American geography of all-night diners, bus stations, and jail cells from Arizona to California. The title sequence draws its subject from James Hampton's visionary assemblage of scavenged foil and lightbulbs, anchoring the collection's search for grace among discarded lives.
From the award-winning poet and novelist--a must-have collection of his four previous books of poetry plus a selection of new, unpublished work.
- American Poetry: Early selections capture strange everyday encounters, pairing a swimmer fined in Basel for annoying seals with an aging shopper mired among supermarket shelves.
- Dramatic Monologues: Extended narrative pieces inhabit unforgettable voices, including an eight-year-old listening to an enraged uncle and a nineteenth-century sailor riding a stolen horse in Kildare County.
- Raw Honesty: Unflinching autobiographical poems confront mortality and renewal, following visits with incarcerated men across Low Gap Road and the quiet nursing of a newborn colt in Anchor Bay.
- Contemporary Poetry: Vivid nocturnal portraits explore moments of unexpected grace, framing a television broadcast arresting diners in a booth.