ShallCross

"Wright has found a way to wed fragments of an iconic America to a luminously strange idiom, eerie as a tin whistle." —The New Yorker"Wright gets better with each book, expanding the reach of her art; it seems it could take in anything." —Publishers Weekly"These poems are so perfect they appear to have been cut from optical glass with very sharp knives; the poet's eye moves over the treacherous landscape of the soul like a lunar eye, measuring seasons, marking time, setting houses and bodies on fire." —Rikki DucornetIn ShallCross, C. D. Wright brings together brief, striking poems in tandem with the longer, unrelenting forms for which she has become recognized and beloved. Pushing the boundaries of genre, language, and poetic populism, ShallCross showcases Wright's singular voice that navigates a rigorous space between journalistic activism, stunning narrative, sociopolitical outrage, and erotic lyricism. This dazzling collection is further evidence that Wright was among our most thrilling and innovative contemporary poets.. . . You are still young enoughTo adopt a xoloWrite an opera on glassBed a chimeraBedazzle and be devouredThe moonroof in your head Slowly sliding openTo the scent of oleander.