Curio

by John A. Nieves

Poetry. CURIO by John Nieves is the winner of the 13th Annual Elixir Press Poetry Award. "To enter the world of CURIO, John Nieves' compelling poetic debut, is to enter a world shaped by a curious and ravenous intellect, a world where 'Morning/ is the cold, rigid face of a coin, shining/ in spite of all those dirty thumbs.' It's a space of copious gathering—one that shares in the rich tradition of the Cabinet of Wonders where collections of memory, history, and language are pondered for their exquisite, revelatory nature, never losing their luster, but invoking, instead renewable facets of awe and inspiration. For Nieves, these wonders may include quite ordinary items. In 'Hasp,' for instance, Nieves considers the 'armies/of relics created solely to open/things that no longer exist,' and finds that in a world where no 'wrist need twist/as codes are punched,' old technologies, in the form of 'diaries, doors, drawers,' are 'the only real zodiac.'"—Jane Satterfield

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2014

Reviews

[Patricia Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Nieves' work since I published his poems in Issue 9 of Superstition Review. It's such a treat to read this collection. Some of my favorite moments:

the water is always water, even
when it is land.

none
of the blood that was in me then
is in me now

because stillness
does not ensure silence

under a microscope this is a tiny failure

A sudden white--the color heat
aspires to.

the deep breath the sun takes before an eclipse

[Sophie Carbone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful imagery. Happy to have read this for class!

[Daniel Klawitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best poems ever written about Piñatas is in this book.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sharp and beautiful debut book from a writer of impressive talent.

This is a case where Goodreads' star system isn't really granular enough -- I'd prefer to give this one 4.5 stars. It's not quite a perfect book, but it's certainly formidable enough. Nieves' technical skill is always impeccable. I felt like maybe the content in the last section wasn't as compelling as that in the first three, but that's a really small complaint for a book of this quality. Highly recommended.

[Karen Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book!