Death at the Mall

In Gene Twaronite's Death at the Mall, a wry and earnest take on the human predicament is everywhere apparent -our desires and follies, our great possibilities and perpetual undoing are all on display. But here too is an underlying sweetness in the poems that perseveres: an orientation of wonder and astonishment, often brought on by the world itself, in all its unknowable splendor, or brought on by the fecklessness of our actions in the face of the grander forces that shape our days. Twaronite's formal interest and dexterity are on full display in these selected works-whether sestinas spooling out, or the sonic energy of an interior rhyme, or riffs on Marianne Moore or Gertrude Stein. In his poem "Distress," Twaronite recounts the occasion of coming upon a beached sea lion in distress, "an inscrutable moment / between me and one sea lion / sharing the common anxiety / of where the next blow will fall, / trying to make sense of it all." In the crucible of Twaronite's poems, we see the things we are made of with rigorous attention, made new by a capacious imagination.



-Tyler Meier, Executive Director, University of Arizona Poetry Center



Gene Twaronite's latest collection, Death at the Mall: New and Selected Poems, could easily be labeled a "candy store of poetry delights." Twaronite has amassed such a rich cornucopia of poems that readers will want to keep coming back to their favorite "flavors" of style and theme. Employing a wide range of forms, Twaronite engages his audience with serious yet wry story-telling, poignant personal experiences, and in-depth imagery that enriches the work. Anyone who appreciates the art and craft of poetry and its full range of sensibilities will be attuned to the poetic voice that makes this collection insightful and enjoyable.

-Alan Perry, Co-Managing Editor, RockPaperPoem and author, Clerk of the Dead



Praise for What the Gargoyle Sees

"... playfully haunting and hauntingly playful."

-TC Tolbert, Tucson Poet Laureate

Praise for Shopping Cart Dreams

"In these poems ... our senses awaken to new ways of perceiving what has been before us for years."

-Richard Newhauser, Professor, Department of English, Arizona State University