“A debut poetry collection examining identity in all its forms-racial, sexual, geographical, and more-with both incisive intensity and tenderness.” - Off the Shelf “The way these poems address violence, life in the south, race, sexuality and relationships makes for an engrossing read best consumed in as few sittings as possible.” - Time The poems of this book are harrowing and heartbreaking, treating family, sexuality, and race with unrelenting intensity.” - Publishers Weekly “Jones had a meteoric rise to literary prominence in the past year. “This is indeed a book seamed in smoke it is a dance that invites you to admire the supple twist of its narrative spine it is hard and glaring and brilliant as the anthracite that opens the collection: ‘ a voice mistook for stone, / jagged black fist.’” -NPR “The features that distinguish his poems from prose-brevity, symbolism, implication-let him investigate the almost unsayable.” - Los Angeles Times Solid from start to finish, possessing amazing energy and focus, a bold new voice in poetry has announced itself.” -Publishers Weekly, starred review “In his debut collection, Jones has crafted a fever dream, something akin to magic. 1 Brooklyn, A Year of Favorites, Jason Diamond Split This Rock Recommended Poetry Books of 2014 To purchase this title for use with a screen reader please call (612) 338-0125 or email us at Best Books of 2014īook Riot, 2014’s Must-Read Books from Indie Presses Thanks to a 2013 ADA Access Improvement Grant administered by VSA Minnesota for the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, this title is also formatted for screen readers which make text accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Saeed is the recipient of fellowships from Cave Canem and Queer / Art / Mentors. His work has appeared in publications like Guernica, The Rumpus, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and Blackbird among others. Saeed Jones’s debut poetry collection Prelude to Bruise was the winner of the 2015 Stonewall Book Award/Barbara Gittings Literature Award and a finalist for the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award. 978-1-56689-374-9 How do we reckon our past without being ravaged by it? How do we use people, and their bodies, to express ourselves? About the Author.

Prelude to bruise by saeed jones