“Kevin Clark’s The Consecrations is a timely book about fear and faith—in particular, the many spiritual, philosophical, and familial beliefs that keep us afloat through the crises that punctuate our lives. These complex and highly readable poems, where ‘heaven’s just a wet dream,’ refuse to ignore the fact of our physical suffering even as the book finally celebrates the desires that keep us tethered to the world.”
—Paisley Rekdal, author of Nightingale and The Broken Country: On Trauma, a Crime, and the Continuing Legacy of Vietnam
Learn More“There is only one plot: Things are not what they seem.”
“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.”
“In the midst of our happiness we were very pleased.”
“Let’s play two.”
“Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.”
“I like restraint—if doesn’t go too far.”
“A work of art is never completed, merely abandoned.”
“Poetry begins where certitude ends.”
“Poetry is a dream dreamed in the presence of reason.”
“For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn’t know I already knew.”
“Keep your eye clear and hit ’em where they ain’t.”
“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”
“The art of running the mile consists, in essence, of reaching the threshold of consciousness at the instant of breasting the tape.”