Poetry. Illustrated by Waltraud Haas. "Raymond L. Bianchi has written a generous, thoughtful book that quietly yet firmly builds a case that the Nazi culture exemplified by Leni Riefenstahl's 'mountain films' and social propaganda has eerie connections to our present-day world of bad politics and bad, bad poetry. 'Alone and without guidance in a vast, empty universe,' arrows suddenly twang towards the earth and sky at once, and plunge through the heads of martyrs and monsters alike. IMMEDIATE EMPIRE ends as it begins, on a long sustained note of threnody and hope"--Kevin Killian.

Author City: Chicago, IL USA

Ray Bianchi is the author of three books, Circular Descent from Blaze Vox Press 2004, American Master (Chapbook) Moria Press 2006, & Immediate Empire (with Waltraud Haas) i.e. Press 2008. He served as co-editor for The City Visible: Chicago Poetry for the New Century, from Cracked Slab Books, 2007. In 2007 he edited and translated the poetry of 18 Brazilian poets whose work appeared as a featured section in the magazine Aufgabe. Ray is the co-founder of Cracked Slab Books and he blogs at irasciblepoet.blogspot.com