Knickpoint

by M.B.F. Wedge

This breathtaking collage memoir in stark prose poetry takes place in a post-industrial upstate New York town. With gimlet-eyed clarity, the author gives equal weight to the momentous and the mundane, spanning the arrest of her former lover for pedophilia, her work as a rehabilitation counselor for the severely and persistently mentally ill, and the death of her mother and aunt. Knickpoint's characters exist at the fringes of accepted space; their struggles reveal the conflicted spirit as a landscape both bright and dark.

196 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2018

About the author

M.B.F. Wedge holds an M.A. from the State University of New York at Cortland and an M.F.A. from Goddard College in Plainfield, VT. As well as a rehabilitation coordinator for the mentally ill, she has worked as a local foods delivery driver, a barista, and a house paint mixer. She lives with her family in Upstate New York. Knickpoint was a finalist for the 2017 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize.

Reviews

[Martha Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and well-written, but a bit too strange and uncomfortable for me. Not something I would normally read, or read again.

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knickpoint, a response:

I dog-eared pages in the copy you said to throw away when the real one arrives-

(Like it was
Trash and not an gleaming achievement
Like I would notice
Flaws that catch *your* eyes as the sun shining off the watch of a man eating lunch two tables over)

Marked pages with things I loved,
Or was curious about but will never ask,
Or was intimidated by.

Musings-in-verse on hidden meanings,
How smart the whole thing is
How smart you are.
And, of course, how that makes me feel.
"Sluices".
A word heard but never known to me.

Closing on night swimming
On things I was almost there for.
A capital R, Regret of mine
But there's always time
To build newer mythologies.
Until there isn't.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introducing an astonishing work by the remarkable MBF Wedge: ‘Knickpoint’ is a memoir written in experimental form like nothing before; she is a master of observing human experience and translating complex emotions. Her work is a must-read and I cannot wait to see what she does next.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in one sitting, thank you for telling your story.

Highly recommend for anyone who likes memoirs, hasn't read poetry in ages, or anyone from "central" New York.

[Regan Ralston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A narrative composed in verse, you feel as much as read this story. Wedge brings to life a gritty, beautiful, and sometimes isolating world; this text plays with language in ways that will cling to you long after the final page.