About This Title
Signed copies available in limited supply
One of America’s foremost prose poets, Richard Garcia’s The Chair takes place simultaneously in the natural world and in a speculative world rich in fabulist tradition: historical figures roam like ghosts; time is pulled and twisted; and narrative spins effortlessly out of language. A core of autobiography grounds these poems that are accessible, highly-imaginative, and rife with surprises. Finely-spun with wit, intelligence, and heart, these poems teach us to dream with eyes wide open.
The Aftermath
The Aftermath arrive uninvited, without retinue, or precedent. Gray sunlight was gradually suspended. Stars formed in cliques, giggling, carrying on. Cosmic rays continued to probe unabated, as The Aftermath remained, uninvited. Several numbers piled on the couch, but added up to nothing. Blame The Aftermath. Single-windowed souls were admitted, some bringing gifts of pomade. Tiny sandwiches were served, each of related interest. Low-grade voluptuousness eventually passed into sleep. The Aftermath sat in a corner. No one spoke to it. The nerve.
Praise for The Chair
“If there is such a thing as the fabulist prose poem, then Richard Garcia is the master of it. Still, we diminish the unpredictability of his imagination by comparing him to the usual fabulists—Cortazar, Borges, or Kafka. By now Garcia has mapped out his own strange territory.”—Peter Johnson
“Funny, fierce, moving, and always no compromises, ever, for Richard Garcia.” —Thomas Lux
“His drop-dead timing is as masterful as his natural grace is rare. An air of enchantment surprises on every page.” —James Tate
About the Author
Richard Garcia is the author of five books of poetry, including BOA titles Rancho Notorious (2001) and The Persistence of Objects (2006). His honors include a fellowship from the NEA, a Pushcart Prize, the Cohen Award from Ploughshares, the Georgetown Review Poetry Prize, and the American Poetry Journal Book Prize. His poems appear widely in journals and anthologies. Garcia teaches creative writing in the Antioch University low-residency MFA program, and lives on James Island, South Carolina with his wife.
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-938160-44-8
© BOA Editions, Ltd. 2014
