A new collection from one of the great poetic stylists of the era is always a cause for celebration. Here, there are squibs and satires, lyrics and songs, poems written to family members and in memory of loved ones, a series of poems written by an artificial intelligence that will thrill and disturb in equal measure, and a chance for the blank page to finally speak for itself. But this is, in its way, also a quietly political book: Maxwell regards poetry as truth-telling, and these poems, in their intimate, unsparing accounts and clear-eyed reckonings, recoil from the lies and fake news of the age to actually "tell it like it is." Showing a remarkable imagination and mind working at fill tilt, this collection is the most powerful expression of Maxwell's talent to date.
A new collection from one of the great poetic stylists of the era is always a cause for celebration. Here, there are squibs and satires, lyrics and songs, poems written to family members and in memory of loved ones, a series of poems written by an artificial intelligence that will thrill and disturb in equal measure, and a chance for the blank page to finally speak for itself. But this is, in its way, also a quietly political book: Maxwell regards poetry as truth-telling, and these poems, in their intimate, unsparing accounts and clear-eyed reckonings, recoil from the lies and fake news of the age to actually "tell it like it is." Showing a remarkable imagination and mind working at fill tilt, this collection is the most powerful expression of Maxwell's talent to date.