Listen

by Steven Cramer

When the locals machete them, “coconuts thud like dud bombs on the lawn.” A man in an MRI machine becomes “a loaf of dough forbidden to rise.” A yogini tells her class to “let the shenanigans of our thinking simmer down.” Yes, these poems begin in depression, but their territories are wide, diverse, and very vivid, and Cramer’s talents as a poet and storyteller are magnificent. Witty and erudite, Listen shines light on the sympathies and sadnesses of illness and the riches of a life deeply attuned to the fragile self and the world the self passes through. This is a marvelous book by a poet in top form.
—Kevin Prufer

Genres: Poetry

118 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2020