“In the wondrous poems of Michelle Whittaker, ‘the tired self slipknots a song for her own self to sleep.’ Even as her language loops into lullabies, swells and spells, it casts a blue and uneasy shadow. Even when she meditates on art or mortality, she dazzles with a turn of phrase and explosive imagery. Even when adrift on the music and mystery of dreams, Surge is fueled by feeling. Warmth and compassion power this amazing debut.”—Terrance Hayes

“I found this poetry, this book, strong and effective. The obscurity, anxiety, the off-stage presence of hidden forces and events, create a spare, enigmatic texture, delaying easy gratification, while the quick particularity, vivid emotion, bold freedom with language pulls the reader forward.” —American Book Review

“Sparse and lyrical, these poems blur the lines between memory, dream, and the present.”—Kirkus Reviews

Michelle Whittaker is a poet and musician. Surge, her debut poetry collection, was Finalist in the 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Her poems have been published in The New Yorker, Vinyl, Narrative, Southampton Review, Transitions Magazine, Long Island Quarterly, and other publications. She was awarded a Jody Donohue Poetry Prize, NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship, and Cave Canem Fellowship. Michelle is an Assistant Professor in the Program of Writing and Rhetoric at Stony Brook University.

Published July 1, 2017

$17.00

ISBN: 978-0-9981440-1-6