Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys Poems

New poetry by D. A. Powell, "the best poet of his generationand arguably the most important poet under fifty" ( Time Out New York) I have this rearrangement to make: symbolic death, my backward glance. The way the past is a kind of future leaning against the sporty hood. from "Bugcatching at Twilight"In D. A. Powell's fifth book of poetry, the rollicking line he has made his signature becomes the taut, more discursive means to describing beauty, singing a dirge, directing an ironic smile, or questioning who in any given setting is the instructor and who is the pupil. This is a book that explores the darker side of divisions and developments, which shows how the interstitial spaces of boonies, backstage, bathhouse, or bar are locations of desire. With Powell's witty banter, emotional resolve, and powerful lyricism, this collection demonstrates his exhilarating range.

D. A. Powell is the author of five collections of poetry, including Chronic, winner of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. He lives in San Francisco.

Praise for D. A. Powell

“No accessible poet of his generation is half as original, and no poet as original is this accessible.” —Stephen Burt, The New York Times Book Review

“Powell turns the lyric form inside out. The work explodes off the page like Molotov cocktails.” —John Freeman, Los Angeles Times