Moth Wing Tea

by Dennis Cruz, A. Razor (Editor)

"How do we translate the unspeakable language of grief? In the short, harrowing lines of MOTH WING TEA, Dennis Cruz gives us his answer. This is the poetics of survival: no adornment, no romanticizing; only the simple, methodical imagery of a poet saying out loud. The juxtaposition of fresh paint, chrome, and a suffering body. The world as explained by one who knows there is more to this life than simply getting up for work. The unvarnished descriptions of violence. The voice of Dennis Cruz weaves together a patchwork of tragedies into a manifesto for poets in the 21st century. As the poet says: "the fear was never/meant/to dissuade you, /but only/to heighten/your senses." Read this book, and get to work." -Rich Villar, Executive Director, Acentos

Genres: Poetry

326 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2013

About the author

Dennis Cruz is a Los Angeles native who has been writing prose, poetry and fiction for over 30 years. Born in San Jose, Costa Rica, his family immigrated to the U.S. when he was just an infant. His work has been featured on public radio stations KPFK and KXLU, and he has performed extensively throughout the Los Angeles area. He has featured his work in many Los Angeles literary establishments, including: Beyond Baroque, Skylight Books and The World Stage. He was also selected as one of the newer poets to watch by the ALOUD series at the Los Angeles Public Library. His most recent collection of poetry, The Beast is WE is now available via Punk Hostage Press. He lives in North-East Los Angeles with his wife and son.

Reviews

[Katie J Smyza · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Introduction, Ryan Elliot Wilson writes that when a reader first discovers Dennis Cruz's poetry, they have a feeling that "This was meant to be." And that's exactly how I felt when I read this book, "I feel like I was supposed to find these poems." They feel so intimate, scary, heartbreakingly real, and also occasionally humorous. Cruz writes about his troubles with addiction, the pulls and pains a writer feels, his role as a father, his mother's suicide and the ghosts that haunt him, his love for his wife, and even about those crinkly paper toilet seat covers in public restrooms.

If you like poetry, at all- read this book. If you think you don't like poetry- read this book. If you have a heart at all- read this book.