Tinderbox Lawn: Prose Poems [Paperback]

Carol Guess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2008

Set on the margins of Seattle, beneath bridges and on the banks of waterways, in strip clubs and flooded farmland, the prose poems in Tinderbox Lawn illuminate the intersection of domesticity and bohemia, orthodoxy and passion. Each untitled block of prose constitutes a novel-in-miniature, with shadow characters and shards of plot. The intensity of Carol Guess's poems builds through lyrical language and recurring images, capturing the moment when the small mad heart at the center of things stalls mid-tick.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Tinderbox Lawn will light you on fire. The music is broken glass; the buildings in flame. Even the language is bruised blue and purple. Richly steeped in the violence of loss, these poems are a tea so sharp it cuts teacups to shards. And one wants to keep drinking for the war planes and train whistles, the queer girls in dresses, for Guess's vulnerable and unbreakable voice. --Jen Currin, author of The Sleep of Four Cities

The sharply cut lines of Tinderbox Lawn veer from the stark and crystalline [...] to the blur of memory and dreams [...] And between those conditions the possibility and impossibility of love lingers throughout, amidst vivid details of urban spectacle. Carol Guess, through brilliantly wrought blocks of prose, has made the kind of poetry you'll want to keep on your night-stand; poetry that won't leave the back of your head the pulse and insistent whisper of it a bridge between faith and decay. --Joseph Massey, author of Out of Light

This is such deep, rich writing. Tinderbox Lawn feels like dreams you forgot as you walk through your day but it's your life. I mean we never think as deeply as we live and Carol Guess tries to braid those strands and succeeds. I love being in this work. --Eileen Myles, author of Sorry, Tree

About the Author

Carol Guess is the author of two novels, Seeing Dell (Cleis Press, 1996) and Switch (Calyx Books, 1998); a memoir, Gaslight (Odd Girls Press, 2001), and a collection of poetry, Femme's Dictionary (Calyx Books, 2004). Forthcoming titles include a poetry collection, Love Is A Map I Must Not Set On Fire (VRZHU Press) and a novel, Homeschooling (PS Publishing). She is an associate professor of English at Western Washington University, and lives on the Washington coast with her spouse, writer Elizabeth Colen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Rose Metal Press; First edition (October 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978984854
• ISBN-13: 978-0978984854
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,484,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carol Guess is the author of three novels, Seeing Dell, Switch, and Homeschooling; a memoir, Gaslight; and three poetry collections, Femme's Dictionary, Tinderbox Lawn, and Love Is A Map I Must Not Set On Fire. Forthcoming books include a poetry collection, Doll Studies: Forensics; a flash fiction collection, Darling Endangered; an essay collection, My Father In Water; and a novella, Willful Machine. She is Associate Professor of English at Western Washington University, where she teaches Creative Writing and Queer Studies.