Poetry. This is the first book by a poet whose imagination is intimately related to the physical wordl around him. Josh Rathkamp's language is plainspoken but emotionally charged. He writes about love (both its pleasures and its difficulties) and of the strangeness of consciousness itself with a confidence that can only come from experience that's been scrutinized and distilled. At first glance quiet and modest, these poemsgather considerable force as the book takes us deeper and deeper into questions essential to us all: Can love survive our limitations? What is art, and why do we need it? How can we speak of human consciousness?

Author City: St. Paul, MN USA

Josh Rathkamp was born in Saginaw, Michigan. He received a BA from Western Michigan University and an MFA from Arizona State University. His work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Indiana Review, Fugue, Meridian, Passages North, Puerto del Sol, Rhino, and Drunken Boat. He currently teaches at Arizona State University and Phoenix College.