Publisher Description

Michael Earl Craig has a cult following, and this book will delight fans looking for new works expressing his signature humor and Lynchian scene making.Craig has long been associated with an absurdist poetic tradition that has garnered a large audience through the work of poets such as Charles Simic and James Tate, the latter with whom which Craig studied.As a working farrier in a small town in Montana, Craig has an interesting, outsider appeal.Craig was the poet laureate of Montana.Craig will likely do readings and events in his regionThis is possibly Craig's most ambitious book, with various projects sewn throughout and a final long cycle, "Briskly Jerked Rugs," that will hopefully find great favor with critics.

Author Biography

Michael Earl Craig is from Dayton, Ohio, home of the gas mask and the mood ring. He is the author of Woods and Clouds Interchangeable (Wave Books, forthcoming 2019), Talkativeness (Wave Books, 2014), Thin Kimono (Wave Books, 2010), Yes, Master (Fence Books, 2006), Can You Relax in My House, (Fence Books, 2002), and the chapbook Jombang Jet (Factory Hollow Press, 2012). He lives in the Shields Valley, near Livingston, Montana, where he runs a full-time farrier practice. He was the 2015-2017 Poet Laureate of Montana.

Table of Contents

WHO WAS MRS. BUTTERWORTH 11ELOISE 12THE RABBIT 13HOW TO FIX A BROKEN BUTTERFLY WING 14WHO WAS VERONICA 15TOWN 16 YOU SHOULD BE HEARING THE SOUND THAT A MARBLE MAKES 17 DIMES 18 WHO WAS PONTIUS PILATE 19THE QUALITY OF LIGHT 20 JOCELYN 22 FROM BED 23 WHO WAS KING FRIDAY 24COLOSSEUM 25 THE PROBLEM 26 CHUNK OF SEA GLASS 27 WHO WAS THE SUN 28 THE COUPLE 29 GIANT HOTEL FERN 30 DON CHEADLE POEM 31 WHO WAS CATULLUS 32AT THE PARTY 33 THIS LOOKS RUSSIAN TO ME 34 WHAT BUGGED ME WAS 35 WHO WAS FRANZ LISZT 36SOME TEA HAS EVAPORATED HERE 37 YOUR PAINTING 38 THE TURIN HORSE 40 WHO WAS SIMONE WEIL 41BILLINGS CLINIC ROOM 2508 42 IDEAS FOR A MOSTLY SILENT FILM IN 3 FIFTEEN-MINUTE SCENES 43 GENTLY TAPPING RAVIOLIS IN A POT OF BOILING WATER 44 WHO WAS MAN O' WAR 45
FINDINGS 46ICE, SALAD, GLOVES 47NATALIA 48 WHO WAS FRÄULEIN UNBEKANNT 49THE CHANGE 50 ROSE TANTRUM 51 THANKSGIVING 52 WHO WAS HEIRONYMOUS BOSCH 53 NPR 54THE BRANCHES OF CLOWNS 55 MARYLAND 56 WHO WAS CHIEF PLENTY COUPS 57THE SIGNAL 58 28 APRIL 2016 59 I'M IN ROOM 927 60 WHO WAS JOAN OF ARC 62 LADY CHAMBLESS'S YARD 63 THE DEAD ELEPHANT 64 THE DROP-KICK 66 WHO WAS LU YOU 67 THE FAIR 68 HOW I SPENT THE AFTERNOON 69 CURRENTLY OVER KANSAS 70 WHO WAS SIR ERNEST HENRY SHACKLETON 71 TWO PEOPLE 72 HOTEL FINLEN 73 HEIMLICH'S BEAGLES 74 WHO WAS DEEP BLUE 75I HAVE STUFFED MYSELF AT DINNER 76 THE BODY BUILDER 77 CHRISTMAS 78 WHO WAS GENGHIS KHAN 79 LAWS OF NATURE 80 BRISKLY JERKED RUGS 81 

Review

"Craig renders unsettling dreams and quotidian clutter with sparse language and a quiet, distant voice to conjure poems brimming with the bizarre."--Publishers Weekly "Quite possibly the funniest poet writing today, Craig's unadorned poetry tends toward the deadpan and the offbeat, with an almost David Lynch-like sense of the uncanny."--The Believer "Craig animates a world we secretly share, and the tension and kilter of his poems reflect 'dreamish autobiographical thoughts' with great poise."--Lia Purpura, The Antioch Review "I like being in the world of Michael Craig's poems. Anything can happen, and probably will, and it will affect me in some small or large ways that I couldn't have imagined. The precision of their imagery keeps me reeling with delight."--James Tate

Promotional

Galley and review copy mailings to major book reviews, literary journals, and library buyers' guides.Galley and review copy mailings to alternative weeklies.Social media campaign.Outreach to independent booksellers.Outreach to poetry and related literary organizations.Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author events.Display at conferences and bookfairs.Co-op available

Excerpt from Book

Town Town was holding its annual pageant down by the river. Floats and kettle corn. Clowns, horns, stuff like that. The first float came into view. Not really a float. It was a men's plaid sport coat just floating down the river toward us face down with arms akimbo. It rippled noiselessly past us. For a few minutes nothing happened. Then came the Shriners, swimming in white underwear. Hats above water. Yelping. Struggling. A couple of them disappeared beneath the surface. Then it was quiet. Nothing happened. Probably five minutes passed. Then a homemade-looking raft with a slippery-looking hog on it came into view. The hog was covered with brown spots. "Leeches!" someone shouted. People laughed. Not everyone. No one was sure. "It's a greased hog on a raft with maybe leeches," someone said. "It's not grease," someone said. "It's maybe sunscreen," someone said. "Those leeches aren't biting," said a man holding a stiff slice of pizza. The river sparkled. Big trucks moved ant-like up a mountain in the distance, belching blue puffs. "If those are leeches," said a young mother holding her baby, "I say they're friendly leeches." "Leeches ain't always evil," said another. Then the baby who was maybe six months old said "Opportunistic leeches." He blinked, working his fingers. "That's our greased hog." His voice was deep and calm. "Covered with opportunistic leeches."

Description for Sales People

Michael Earl Craig has a cult following, and this book will delight fans looking for new works expressing his signature humor and Lynchian scene making. Craig has long been associated with an absurdist poetic tradition that has garnered a large audience through the work of poets such as Charles Simic and James Tate, the latter with whom which Craig studied. As a working farrier in a small town in Montana, Craig has an interesting, outsider appeal. Craig was the poet laureate of Montana. Craig will likely do readings and events in his region This is possibly Craig's most ambitious book, with various projects sewn throughout and a final long cycle, "Briskly Jerked Rugs," that will hopefully find great favor with critics.

Details