But a Storm Is Blowing from Paradise

"What's a storm doing in Paradise to begin with? I blame the Poet. And why's it blowing this way? I blame Bertram. Radiowoman's got 'jukebox growth' up and down the dial, hitting frequencies high and low. What's that you say, Barking Dog? 'Inferior & menstrus'? Ha. Storm blowing this way is a book of smart songs that part the curtains of Paradise. Storm blowing this way, hip to brain, is a poet you'll be reading for years. 'O thuggish awakening'? Bring it on."--Steve Davenport, author of "Uncontainable Noise"

"The promise to 'learn/ more about the cosmos then apply/ that knowledge to the arts' could serve well as a maxim for these brilliant, adventuresome poems. Lillian-Yvonne Bertram is charting a wonderful new path through contemporary poetry. Touched but never bound by singular doctrines of narrative, lyric or experiment, her poems merge linguistic zeal with capacious imagination. "But a Storm is Blowing From Paradise" is a trailblazing debut, and Lillian-Yvonne Bertram is not simply a poet to watch, she is a poet to follow."--Terrance Hayes

"Lillian-Yvonne Bertram's "But a Storm is Blowing From Paradise" is an offering to those of us for whom normalcy is the constant shift between a sense of location and dislocation. The shrewdness of these poems accumulates into a critique of our American desires and failures. The precision of Bertram's lyrical and agile language is born out of the specificity of her gaze on what subliminally feels like a road trip through the towns that make up this country. These unforgettable poems awaken images so masterfully that reading and seeing become one thing: 'We are claimed by middle country/where the river is cooked to steam in the factory belly/& every quivering shadow is missing its father.' This award winning collection is an American portrait in which the poems are themselves, in Bertram's words, 'the elliptical mystery or the grief that walks different on everyone...' It's exhilarating to read poetry that pushes reading into the realm of experience. "--Claudia Rankine, Final Judge, 2010 Benjamin Saltman Award

Lillian-Yvonne Bertram s"But a Storm is Blowing From Paradise"is an offering to those of us for whom normalcy is the constant shift between a sense of location and dislocation. The shrewdness of these poems accumulates into a critique of our American desires and failures. The precision of Bertram s lyrical and agile language is born out of the specificity of her gaze on what subliminally feels like a road trip through the towns that make up this country. These unforgettable poems awaken images so masterfully that reading and seeing become one thing: We are claimed by middle country/where the river is cooked to steam in the factory belly/& every quivering shadow is missing its father. This award winning collectionis an American portrait in which the poems are themselves, in Bertram s words, the elliptical mystery or the grief that walks different on everyone It s exhilarating to read poetry that pushes reading into the realm of experience. Claudia Rankine, Final Judge, 2010 Benjamin Saltman Award"

What s a storm doing in Paradise to begin with? I blame the Poet. And why s it blowing this way? I blame Bertram. Radiowoman s got jukebox growth up and down the dial, hitting frequencies high and low. What s that you say, Barking Dog? Inferior & menstrus ? Ha. Storm blowing this way is a book of smart songs that part the curtains of Paradise. Storm blowing this way, hip to brain, is a poet you ll be reading for years. O thuggish awakening ? Bring it on. Steve Davenport, author of "Uncontainable Noise""

The promise to learn/ more about the cosmos then apply/ that knowledge to the arts could serve well as a maxim for these brilliant, adventuresome poems. Lillian-Yvonne Bertram is charting a wonderful new path through contemporary poetry. Touched but never bound by singular doctrines of narrative, lyric or experiment, her poems merge linguistic zeal with capacious imagination. "But a Storm is Blowing From Paradise" is a trailblazing debut, and Lillian-Yvonne Bertram is not simply a poet to watch, she is a poet to follow. Terrance Hayes"

Lillian-Yvonne Bertram sBut a Storm is Blowing From Paradiseis an offering to those of us for whom normalcy is the constant shift between a sense of location and dislocation. The shrewdness of these poems accumulates into a critique of our American desires and failures. The precision of Bertram s lyrical and agile language is born out of the specificity of her gaze on what subliminally feels like a road trip through the towns that make up this country. These unforgettable poems awaken images so masterfully that reading and seeing become one thing: We are claimed by middle country/where the river is cooked to steam in the factory belly/& every quivering shadow is missing its father. This award winning collectionis an American portrait in which the poems are themselves, in Bertram s words, the elliptical mystery or the grief that walks different on everyone It s exhilarating to read poetry that pushes reading into the realm of experience. Claudia Rankine, Final Judge, 2010 Benjamin Saltman Award

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What s a storm doing in Paradise to begin with? I blame the Poet. And why s it blowing this way? I blame Bertram. Radiowoman s got jukebox growth up and down the dial, hitting frequencies high and low. What s that you say, Barking Dog? Inferior & menstrus ? Ha. Storm blowing this way is a book of smart songs that part the curtains of Paradise. Storm blowing this way, hip to brain, is a poet you ll be reading for years. O thuggish awakening ? Bring it on. Steve Davenport, author of Uncontainable Noise"

The promise to learn/ more about the cosmos then apply/ that knowledge to the arts could serve well as a maxim for these brilliant, adventuresome poems. Lillian-Yvonne Bertram is charting a wonderful new path through contemporary poetry. Touched but never bound by singular doctrines of narrative, lyric or experiment, her poems merge linguistic zeal with capacious imagination. But a Storm is Blowing From Paradise is a trailblazing debut, and Lillian-Yvonne Bertram is not simply a poet to watch, she is a poet to follow. Terrance Hayes"