The Word Kingdom in the Word Kingdom - Softcover

Poetry. A new collection from one of America's most intriguing poets, this is Noah Eli Gordon's heftiest book yet, presenting a decade's worth of honed, tightly-knit lyrics, poetic sequences, and prose experiments. These are beautifully convulsive, boldly contained poems, orchestrating from the musicality of syntax—the underlying allegro and tempo changes in the way we speak, write, and subsequently think—into an enactment, rather than a representation or description, of experience. Operating under Emerson's assertion that "[e]very word was once a poem," THE WORD KINGDOM IN THE WORD KINGDOM argues for the necessity of highlighting artifice even in the face of so-called empiricism. Here a sort of intelligent, discursive speed is harnessed from rhetorical arguments swerving at the last moment from expectation. Whether under the influence of the word or the kingdom, one herein is held captive by the joy of continual surprise.

"Eileen Myles, Alice Notley, and Clark Coolidge were among the poets I looked up to as a youngster. When I think of poets from my generation who bring that same shock of living magic, Noah Eli Gordon tops the list. I'm always excited for his latest book, each a departure for unknown terrain. This is essential poetry, which is an urgent way of saying highly recommended!"—CA Conrad

"I've known Noah ever since he was a flower on fire. This book burns."—Dorothea Lasky

"With humor, anger, intelligence, & wonder, THE WORD KINGDOM IN THE WORD KINGDOM is a quiet masterpiece. NEG writes with such a high level & understanding of craft & technique that you can pick any page at random & spend the rest of your life staring into it like a solar eclipse."—Mathias Svalina