Where X Marks the Spot

Poetry. "`Who touches this book, touches a man,' said Whitman, and that is certainly the case with this astounding volume by Bill Zavatsky, who generously imparts his whole life and soul in these vital, hilarious, frank, eloquent, deeply satisfying works. Poet of the white working class, of jazz gigs and strip clubs, marriage, screw-ups and divorce, of obstinately teaching kids to write, chronicler of city life on the fly, bard of the splendors and miseries of the dating scene, Zavatsky risks all, holds nothing back. These remarkable poems have plenty of heart, muscle and mind: they refuse easy bondings, they test the limits of their own compassion. So much contemporary poetry seems tame, obscure or overly fussy compared to the robust humanity, independence and (finally, yes) wisdom of this inimitable voice" --Phillip Lopate.