Apotheosis

In this collection of truths told through events, imagination and impressions, we see confessional poetry at its best — not slavish to facts but authentic to experience and relationships. The apotheosis of the title is both a climax and an elevation as the persona deals with the death of his father while still in his early 30s. Part memorial, part interrogation of what it means to be mortal, there is affection and honesty at work in a collection that knows that there are things we will never understand about another person, no matter how close. Brimming with stand-out phrases that are clear, tender and exquisitely observed, the structuring of the poems allows the poet to hold a mirror up to himself and his father at parallel life-stages and as roles shift. The result is a cohesive collection that is poignant, compassionate, intelligent, breath-taking.