Fall Higher is a major new collection by one of America’s most inventive and entertaining writers. Dean Young’s work contends with the turbulence of love—wryly cataloging mistakes, the deterioration of relationships, and broken vows. “But don’t despair,” he counsels readers. “There are designs that seem like chaos / only because you’re too close.” Young’s humor is as sharp as ever, coupled with a heart-earned vulnerability that renders Fall Higher his most intimate collection. Young urges us to “fall higher” until “there’s nothing left but hope.”
ISBN: 9781556594014
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781556593116
Format: Hardcover
Reviews
“Young has always stood out for his sharp humor, boundless poetic energy, and sheer readability. If adventurous poetry can sometimes feel like a tenuous tightrope walk, Young’s poems feel more like zip lines.” —Boston Globe
“In his 13th book, Young confronts mortality and the frailty of relationships with his trademark humor and inventiveness, but also with a newfound vulnerability and urgency.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Inspired by ‘the hocus- / pocus gnosis of this world,’ Young’s fast-paced improvisations are held together not only by the occasional imposition of rhymed couplets and triplets and a self-rationalizing philosophy in which a grounding belief in the protean illogic of human existence is the point (‘I did hallucinogens for corroboration’), but through a subtle yet strong emotional engagement, as recognizably deep notes of loss, failure, regret, tenderness, awe, and despair can be discerned amid the bright dissonance of non sequiturs.” —Library Journal