The End of the West

The poems in Michael Dickmanrs"s energized debut document the bright desires and all-too-common sufferings of modern times: the churn of domestic violence, spiritual longing, drug abuse, and the impossible expectations fathers have for their sons. In a poem that references heroin and "scary parents," Dickman reminds us that "Still there is a lot to pray to on earth." Dickman is a poet to watch.You can go blind, waitingUnbelievable quiet except for their soundingsMoving the sea aroundUnbelievable quiet inside you, as they change the face of waterThe only other time I felt this still was watching Leif shoot up when we were twelveSunlight all over his facebreaking the surface of something I couldnrs"t seeYou can wait your whole lifeMichael Dickman was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and began writing poems "after accidentally reading a Neruda ode." His work has appeared in The New Yorker , Tin House , and The American Poetry Review .