New Books In Poetry

Language Arts (Wave Books 2014) by Cedar Sigo is a departure and then reintroduction to form on avant garde’s terms. In addition to disparate explosions of imagery, Cedar trains the ear for surprise of sound and a prosody that was born of childhood prayer, exposure to native tongue, and an understanding of musical composition. You enter a foreign landscape and exit much wiser.     Kiss the lights and they change out over the Stardust Cities are huge machines for sorting poets Starting down the cellophane-enfolded hills Even cast off lines have their own pull and rhyme. (Excerpt from “After Self-Help”) His love of poetry extends far beyond his own written word. I was impressed by the wealth of knowledge he drew upon in our talk, let alone in the creation of his verse. There is a reverence that any listener would find endearing and ensures us that our art is in the hands of a master. And I tell you, the sonnet never looked so good. Just like his poems, our conversation was full of su