Telling the Difference

"To quote Norman O. Brown quoting Euripedes, "God made an opening for the unexpected," and at long last we have what many of us have greatly desired: a collection of poems by Paul Watsky. His is a singular voice in contemporary poetry, with a range that encompasses the wry, the mordant, the laugh-out-loud funny and the deeply moving, often within the same poem. One of Ovid's earliest critics complained that he did not know when to leave well enough alone. In this he resembles the eponymous hero of Watsky's "The Magnificent Goldstein," and, come to think of it, Watsky himself, for which we have cause to rejoice." -Charles Martin _____________________________________________"We meet an observant poet telling a story, his story: wryly perceived incidents of family and history-all given with elegance, wit, and intimacy. A concise, carefully crafted, timely view of the world." -Joanne Kyger