Poetry. "'The tidal wave entered the room.,' wrote Louis Aragon, 'And carried off the mother in the cupboard.' That same alluvial blessing-disguised-as-disaster informs the work of California poet Dale Jensen, whose imagination thrives on the unlikely meetings, on a dissection table, of a sewing machine and an umbrella. These secret mechanistic trysts produce the even more unlikely progeny of superrealist poetry. Jensen here joins California's distinguished list of West Coast surrealists—Lamantia, Valaoritis, Argüelles, Joron, among others—with a book that tells the world that the most revolutionary art movement of Europe made a splash in our coastal waters too"—Jack Foley.

Author City: BERKELEY, CA USA

Dale Jensen was born in Oakland, California, and grew up there. Heavily influenced by the Surrealist movement, he is known internationally as an exponent of the cut-up technique. He edited the poetry magazine Malthus from 1985 through 1989. He has published eight books of poetry, the latest three of which are CYCLONE FENCE (2007), OEDIPUS' FIRST LOVER (2009), and AUTO BIO (2010). His poetry has been published in many magazines and journals including Lost and Found Times, TALISMAN, Convolvulus, Dirigible, The Walrus, Ur-Vox, Poetry East, and many others. He has co-coordinated poetry readings since 1989, and is currently involved in the Last Word Reading Series at Nefeli Caffe in Berkeley.