BEAST BOOK - Michael Gessner

I had the privilege of writing one of the back cover liner notes for this book of poems, and of course, I read the book in its entirety before doing so. It's now several months later and I keep returning to this book again and again. This book is so multi-layered that I've been savoring one poem at a time, line by line, word by word.

Today it's the short poem "Matching." Snow is falling throughout West Virginia and the poem matches my mood perfectly:

"...a world
brighter than my own
floats to mind,

and I have stepped outside
the self & into another
zone occupied
with foreign sensations only"

There's plenty of grit in this book--gristle and grind and "fat in a pot." But it's needful to find the little poem, the small that makes you larger.

The book design by Geoffrey Gatza and publishing details by BlazeVOX contribute to the cohesive effect of the book. I really hope this book finds the readers that it deserves.