The Ancient Use of Stone: Journals and Daybooks, 1998-2008

Poetry. Ray DiPalma's THE ANCIENT USE OF STONE is a collection of journals and daybooks from 1998-2008. Part daybook, part journal, part commonplace book, replete with images and visual work, this comprehensive volume chronicles the poet's everyday life on New York's Upper Westside. Beginning with the title section, "The Ancient Use of Stone" (1998), the book is made up of six chronologically arranged sections, "Jihadgraphy" (2002), "An August Daybook" (2005), "Mules at the Wake" (2006), "Ascoso" (2006) and "Salt in the Rock" (2008). This intimate and at the same time challenging record displays a unique passion and commitment to writing, as well as a finely tuned sense of humor. Quixotic, serious, lyrical and sometimes troubling, DiPalma's grand adventure of a book embodies an important talent at its most discerning.