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In Will Alexander's work, "Every poem reads like a subversive, alchemical wonder. It is tempting to label Alexander a surrealist or experimentalist, but he is truly a singular voice" (Jackson Poetry Prize citation).
Composed and collected by slow accretion over the span of thirty years,
Across the Vapour Gulf opens with a note by the poet: "When I first laid eyes on the writing of Cioran I was smitten by the form. The aphorism seemed cleansed of detritus-in Cioran's hands, it seemed to spontaneously ignite. Poetry, history, philosophy, the essay, medicinally combined, appearing on the other side of itself as insight. Reading Cioran opened an unexpected neural pathway, opening the way for the composition of the compilation at hand. Each entry was instantaneous. They welled up and appeared with such astonishing alacrity, that they seemed to compose themselves practically fully formed."
About the author
A poet, aphorist, playwright, essayist, philosopher, visual artist, and pianist
Will Alexander is a native of Los Angeles. The author of nearly thirty books, his honors include a Whiting Fellowship for Poetry, a California Arts Council Fellowship, the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award, a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, and the 2016 Jackson Poetry Prize. He is currently the poet-in-residence at Beyond Baroque in Venice, California.
Summary
Poetics: flight across precipitous intransigence.--from Across the Vapour Gulf.
