Poetry. "If proof were needed that Surrealism is a spontaneous expression of the poetic mind, Ivan Argüelles would be the one to provide it. In the tradition of the madder, darker, and more mystical Surrealists like René Crevel and Antonin Artaud, Argüelles weaves his mad web of images out of an impossible depth. Unlike the more superficial image makers who lay claim to the Surrealist label out of sheer laziness or because 'it looks easy,' Argüelles is genuine"—Andrei Codrescu.

Author City: BERKELEY, CA USA

Ivan Argüelles is one of this century's foremost surrealist poets. Born in Minnesota of Mexican and Anglo parentage (his father was a "communista" who knew Leon Trotsky personally), Ivan lived throughout the United States before settling in Berkeley, California. A polyglot and classicist, Argüelles manages to convey in his work a magical combination of surpassing reality and an almost eerie symbolism. His many books include A DAY IN THE SUN, ULTERIOR VISION(S), THE DEATH OF STALIN: SELECTED EARLY POEMS 1978-1989 (The Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, 2011), The Invention of Spain, LOOKING FOR MARY LOU: ILLEGAL SYNTAX (William Carlos Williams Award, 1989), "THAT" GODDESS, MADONNA SEPTET (2 vols.), INFERNO, and COMEDY, DIVINE, THE. Argüelles is founder and co-editor of Pantograph Press.