New Book by James Matthew Wilson

James Matthew Wilson, whose poems and essays we have been proud to feature in Dappled Things, has finished his second volume of poetry, The Violent and the Fallen. Here is the publisher's announcement:

In James Matthew Wilson’s second chapbook of poems, The Violent and the Fallen, we enter the lives of retail bankers, voluptuous lifeguards, alcoholic balloon vendors, and “wiry and cavern-chested” cruisers killing time in the vacancies of the Midwest. We visit the dilapidated grandeur of post-industrial South Bend, those forgotten places “Far from the New Yorker,” along with the churches, bars, graveyards, vineyards, and encampments of a violent and fallen world. Building on the narrative form of his earlier Four Verse Letters, Wilson’s book guides us through the violence of desire in search of those permanent things by means of which we may redeem and bring order to our lives.One of the most wide-ranging and provocative cultural critics of his generation, and one of our most impassioned defenders of traditional verse forms, Wilson collects here twenty-one new poems at once severe and restrained, difficult and affecting.The volume is now available for pre-order directly from Finishing Line Press (www.finishinglinepress.com), and will be published in November of this year. Because the total press run will be determined based on advance sales, we encourage you to place your order today. Do so before September 27th to receive discounted shipping.

Wilson was recently interviewed about the book, and Rod Dreher raved about the poems. I encourage all the poetry fans reading this to order The Violent and the Fallen. Oh, and go check out his essays at Contemporary Poetry Review!