Poetry. LGBT Studies. STRANGER IN TOWN is the much-anticipated second collection by San Francisco poet Cedar Sigo. Reflecting queer identity while eschewing clichéd aesthetics, STRANGER exudes an urban mysticism redolent of the SF Renaissance--particularly John Wieners--as it collages the fragmented experience of contemporary culture. Among its highlights are the sublime long poem, "Music for Torching," written in collaboration with Nathan Berlinguette and Will Yackulic, the translation of "Villon," the biographical "Notes on Joan Crawford," and prose meditations on poetry like "The Sun" and "The Emerald Tablet."

Author City: SAN FRANCISCO, CA USA

Born in 1978 on the Suquamish Indian Reservation in Washington State, Cedar Sigo studied at the Naropa Institute with Anne Waldman, Lisa Jarnot, Alice Notley, Joanne Kyger, and Allen Ginsberg, among others. His first book, SELECTED WRITINGS (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2003), was reprinted in a revised edition in 2005. A writer on art, literature, and film, Sigo has collaborated with many visual artists and recently blogged for SFMOMA's Open Space. In June 2009, he gave a reading at New York's P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in conjunction with its Kenneth Anger retrospective.

Reviews and Other Links
John Latta @ Isola di Rifiuti
Colin Herd @ Chroma blog
Kevin Killian in San Francisco Bay Guardian
Barbara Berman @ The Rumpus
Ron Silliman
Adam Bishop @ The Volta