Cyrus Cassells’s fourth volume of poems explores the poet’s spiritual and artistic patrimony. In the wake of his father’s death from cancer, the poet returns to Italy, France, and Spain—countries that nurtured him as a young writer—to investigate the sources of his inspiration. Vincent Van Gogh, Cesare Pavese, Eugenio Montale, Giorgio Bassani, Attilio and Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Federico García Lorca are invoked, revisited, and revered to brace the poet through his mourning.
ISBN: 9781556592140
Format: Paperback
Reviews
“In what the poet calls his ‘book of heroes,’ Cassells returns to Italy, France, and Spain after his father’s death and resurrects the poetic voices that guided and inspired him in his youth… [Cassells’s] enormous passion and soft touch create images that are both delicious and haunting. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal
“… These lyrical, pastoral poems reveal how far the shattered heart reaches into the earth for poetic truth.” —Bloomsbury Review
“What readers will love is the quietly gorgeous language Cassells delivers as he copes with loss.” —Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
“Cassells’s poems are enthralling—they are heartfelt, with the largeness of spirit found in great literature… Cassells is one of the most exciting poets writing in the US today.” —Rita Dove