Joseph Cornell

Joseph Cornell: The Man Who Love Sparrows is a soaring portrait of the visual artist and experimental filmmaker and the interweaving of lives he touched and those who inspired this thoughtful creator. These poems from Schmidt and Miller (also an interweaving, of styles and ideas and shared affection for the artist) burst with history, connection, image, and thoughtful vision. Each section, written with resounding voice and immaculate style, generates a fine momentum that carries the weight of shadow, of loss, of awe, of growth, of the seeking of connection and fulfilment in a shaky, unknown world that to Joseph only made sense when surrounded by the happy hue of family, friendship, and the life-giving creative spark. This is a chapbook worth reading time and again, delighting in the sharp voices, carefully chosen words, drum-tight rhythm, and passion for the imaginative spirit."

-Jonathan Starke, Founding Editor of Palooka and author of You've Got Something Coming



With their combined voices, Tana Miller and Jan Zlotnik Schmidt pay loving homage to Joseph Cornell's vision with its combination of the commonplace and the uncanny, his dream landscape that is the landscape of all our dreams."

-Mary Gordon, author of Final Payments and Payback

"Poets Jan Zlotnik Schmidt and Tana Miller have reflected upon American artist Joseph Cornell's life and works to create their own literary "Cornell boxes." Each poem is a stand-alone piece of art, but when collected here in their volume, Joseph Cornell: The Man Who Loved Sparrows, the poems create a gallery show examining the artist's biography and imagery. And with a keen eye, these two poets explore their own personal connection with Cornell's mysterious world. It's an insightful, unique book for both the readers of literature and art history."

-Laurence Carr, author of Paradise Loft and Threnodies and Publisher of LightwoodPress.com