Poetry. In his bold second book, Ben Lerner molds philosophical insight, political outrage, and personal experience into a devastating critique of mass society. ANGLE OF YAW investigates the fate of public space, public speech, and how the technologies of viewing—aerial photography in particular—feed our culture an image of itself. Haunted by our current "war on terror," much of the book was written while Lerner was living in Madrid (at the time of the Atocha bombings and their political aftermath), as the author steeped himself in the history of Franco and fascism. But regardless of when or where it was written, ANGLE OF YAW will further establish Lerner as one of our most intriguing and least predictable poets.
Author City: BROOKLYN, NY USA
Ben Lerner is the author of the novel LEAVING THE ATOCHA STATION (Coffee House Press, 2011) and three books of poetry: MEAN FREE PATH (Copper Canyon Press, 2010); ANGLE OF YAW (Copper Canyon Press, 2006), named a finalist for the National Book Award for his second book; and THE LICHTENBERG FIGURES (Copper Canyon Press, 2004). Born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1979, he holds a BA in political science and an MFA in creative writing from Brown University and teaches at Brooklyn College. In 2011 Lerner became the first American to win the Preis der Stadt Münster für Internationale Poesie.
Reviews and Other Links
Joyelle McSweeney @ Rain Taxi
Ron Silliman
Elisa Gabbert @ Octopus Magazine
John Deming @ Coldfront
Kent Shaw @ Lots and lots of neat