Vital Pursuits

Vital Pursuits is a companionable, engaging, surprising book-length poem, one that is compassionate, subtly strange, and very present in our time. Its main concerns are mortality and the possibility of connection. While the poetry is conversational and clear, the basic technique is montage: rapid movement from one idea or image or event to another. The purpose, however, is thankfully not merely to dazzle or amuse, but to convey emotional states. Most important is a close attention to the power of single words, how they can be used in one way in a certain sentence and then be repurposed in the next to convey an unexpected, yet related, even dangerous or threatening emotion or thought. This is an impressive debut from a true poet whose future work I will wait for with anticipation.

-Matthew Zapruder