Start of Something Beautiful (Paperback or Softback)

These Prose Poems Are the Next Best Thing to a Cure for Dyspepsia

As written artifacts, these purport to be reflections from the universe's speaking mirror, lines of emotion marching as if in a trance from various points of origin, like meteor showers emanating from different parts of the heavens intruding on day's sky. They peel back history and they peel back memory until only husks remain. Much like affixing plaster to old wounds as new wounds continually spring open, these prose poems welcome each other into their worlds of pain and welcome the reader to discover caskets of word puzzles they leave behind.

Not meant as a "personal and wholly insignificant grouse against life. . . a piece of rhythmical grumbling," but rather as pieces of private jokes sprung with the gravest intent on the universe in an earnest criticism of what's no more than haggard reality.

These prose poems were written sequentially, mostly in pairs, which, under one consideration, could serve as a journal of sorts starting late 2022 and ending early 2023.

Poetry.

Gian Lombardo's books include the prose poetry collections Bricked Bats (Quale Press, 2021), Machines We Have Built (Quale Press, 2014), Who Lets Go First (Swamp Press, 2010), Aid & A_Bet (BlazeVOX [books], 2008), Of All the Corners to Forget (Meeting Eyes Bindery, 2004), Sky Open Again (Dolphin-Moon Press, 1997), Before Arguable Answers (Burning Press, 1993), and Standing Room (Dolphin-Moon Press, 1989) as well as the poetry collection Between Islands (Dolphin-Moon Press, 1984). Lombardo's translations include Louis Bertrand's Gaspard de la Nuit: Fantasies in the Manner of REmbrandt and Callot (Quale Press, 2022), Maurice de GuÇrin's The Centaur & The Bacchante (Quale Press, 2021), Michel Delville's Anything & Everything (Quale Press, 2016), Archestratos's Gastrology or Life of Pleasure or Study of the Belly or Inquiry Into Dinner (Quale Press, 2009), Michel Delville's Third Body (Quale Press, 2009), and Eugäne Savitzkaya's Rules of Solitude (Quale Press, 2004). He directs Quale Press, which mainly publishes prose poetry, and teaches publishing at Emerson College.