The winner of the 2018 Nightboat Poetry Prize that enters the space of ritual, incantation and trance with a stunning assemblage of images and structures.

From Will Alexander, finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, a new collection of poems from the intersection between surrealism and afro-futurism, where Césaire meets Sun Ra. Divine Blue Light further affirms Alexander’s status as one of the most unique and innovative voices in contemporary poetry. “Since the 1980s, the Los Angeles-based Alexander has mixed politics with mesmeric, oracular lines.”—The New York Times Against the ruins of a contemporary globalist discourse, which he denounces as a “lingual theocracy of super-imposed rationality,” Will Alexander’s poems constitute an alternative cartography that draws upon omnivorous reading—in subjects from biology to astronomy to history to philosophy—amalgamating their diverse vocabularies into an impossible instrument only he can play. Divine Blue Light is anchored by three major works: the opening “Condoned to Disappearance,” a meditation on the heteronymic exploits of Portuguese modernist Fernando Pessoa; the closing “Imprecation as Mirage,” a poem channeling an Indonesian man; and the title poem, an anthemic ode to the jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. Other key pieces include “Accessing Gertrude Bell,” a critique of one of the designers of the modern state of Iraq; “Deficits: Chaïm Soutine & Joan Miró,” in homage to two Jewish artists forced to flee the Nazi invasion of France; and “According to Stellar Scale,” a compact lyric that traveled to space with astronaut Sian Proctor. The newest installment in our Pocket Poets Series, Divine Blue Light confirms Alexander’s status among the foremost surrealists writing in English today. Praise for Divine Blue Light: "Adopting a surrealist approach to making sense of the universe, Alexander plumbs language for its limits, often with dazzling results....Pondering the mysteries of existence and artistic influence, this engrossing work turns the quest for self-knowledge into a choral act."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "Alexander’s range—which moves past the propriety of each subject to the expansiveness of every—can be approximated as Aimé Césaire’s totality of the lion, or form and emptiness, or appositional, apparitional Black being. And this being is most real and realized through the collection’s quantum mechanics and dynamics, which Alexander invokes astrophysically, evokes metaphysically."—Jenna Peng, The Poetry Foundation "These surrealist and Afrofuturist poems examine politics, globalism, and the powers and limitations of language, while paying tribute to artists forced to flee the Nazi invasion of France.”—Maya Popa, Publishers Weekly "The 'invisible current' Will Alexander channels in the meteoric poems of Divine Blue Light is not surreal escape but vibrational engagement—an engagement with the infinite streams of the heart of being."—Jeffrey Yang, author of Line and Light "Like agua tilting itself into a god, Will’s texts suffuse the horizon of Poetry with the abstract purity of their oceanic movements, sun-condensing, dissolving seemingly endless sight into a disappearing instant of the Miraculous. Divine Blue Light exists by what it exudes."—Carlos Lara, author of Like Bismuth When I Enter

Best American Experimental Writing 2020, guest-edited by Joyelle McSweeney and Carmen Maria Machado, is the sixth edition of the critically acclaimed anthology series compiling an exciting mix of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and genre-defying work. Featuring a diverse roster of writers and artists culled from both established authors—including Anne Boyer and Alice Notley—as well as new and unexpected voices, like Kamden Hilliard and Kanika Agrawal, BAX 2020 presents an expansive view of today's experimental and high-energy writing practices. A perfect gift for discerning readers as well as an important classroom tool, Best American Experimental Writing 2020 is a vital addition to the American literary landscape.

When the mermaid performers at Oceanica Marine Park turn violent and attack their handlers, it's Finn Jarvis' job to euthanize them. The work is dangerous, and he botches his latest assignment, causing the death of two additional—and expensive—Mer. His dream of becoming a superstar trainer seems lost until a newly-caught mermaid offers him the opportunity to prove himself. Erie isn't just any mermaid, she's an ocean-princess that's been ripped from her home. She doesn't know what the landfolk want from her, but she's determined to learn air-words and find out. Alone and voiceless, she watches as the other merfolk are broken into submission, but Erie refuses to be subjugated. To avoid the fate of Oceanica's other Mer and eventually make it home, she needs to make the crowds love her as something more than entertainment. While Finn trains Erie in her routine, she teaches herself English. Finn has always seen the Mer as ruthless aquatic predators, but Erie seems more human than fish. Soon he finds himself breaking the number one rule at Oceanica: "Never humanize the Mer." Finn's awe-inspiring routine breaks too many rules, and he's soon fired, with a new trainer taking over Erie's show. One that will do whatever it takes to break and silence her. Finn needs to free Erie before she's broken or killed by her new trainer… or snaps and kills the new trainer herself. To do that, he'll have to launch a campaign to take down one of the most popular attractions in the world, turn his back on his closest friends and family, and protect Erie from ever being captured again.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1861.