Poetry. In this his third book of poetry, Mark Irwin makes stunning jumps of imagination to create a poetry that is Rilkean in conception and execution, and that speaks to the issues of history, memory, language and consciousness. Irwin's vision for America is as broad as Whitman's and Hart Crane's, his language propelled by charged rhythms and a lush music. These poems address the American experience, from shopping at Woolworth's to traveling into the Grand Canyon, from the art of Robert Mapplethorpe to that of Andy Warhol, who "watched the working class work and it bored [him] to beauty."

Author City: LOS ANGELES, CA USA

Mark Irwin's poetry and essays have appeared widely in many literary magazines including The American Poetry Review, The Atlantic, Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, Paris Review, Poetry, The Nation, New England Review, and the New Republic. The author of five previous collections of poetry, The Halo of Desire (1987), Against the Meanwhile, Wesleyan University Press (1989), Quick, Now, Always, BOA (1996), White City, BOA (2000), and Bright Hunger, BOA (2004), he has also translated two volumes of poetry, one from the French and one from the Romanian. Recognition for his work includes The Nation/Discovery Award, four Pushcart Prizes, National Endowment for the Arts and Ohio Art Council Fellowships, two Colorado Council for the Arts Fellowships, two Colorado Book Awards, the James Wright Poetry Award, and fellowships from the Fulbright, Lilly, and Wurlitzer Foundations. He lives in Colorado, and Los Angeles, where he currently teaches in the Graduate Creative Writing Program at the University of Southern California.