The Book of Matthew

Matthew Welton makes tunes out of words. Using the sounds and structures of language, he finds new understandings of what poetic form can do. He refuses to be constrained by convention. The title poem borrows its structure from Roget's Thesaurus to spin thirty-nine variations on sounds, images and rhythms, creating a puzzling, dazzling kaleidoscope of effects. The Book of Matthew is playful, witty and irresistibly memorable, expanding the attentive reader's awareness of the fabric of poetry and the possibilities of language. These poems give delight by means of the shape of the lines on the page, the feel of the words on the tongue, and the subtle noises they plant in the ear.