Stunning poetry collection! From the publisher: “Mark Bibbins‘s book-length poem sequence brings the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and ‘90s into new light—an account that approximates, with stunning lyricism, “what music sounds like / just before the record skips.” Part elegy, part memoir in verse, this is a groundbreaking collection whose trajectory runs counter to the impulse toward nostalgia, unearthing what was thought to have burned in the fire.”
“The song I still am looking for
is a song without words my favorite
kind lately not because words
are precious and not because I live
already in them even though
they are and I do”
Mark Bibbins
pickThis is a strong poem/collection of poems. It‘s a loose collection of segments that combine to make a larger poem. The theme is the AIDS crisis in the US and the author‘s loss of a close friend/lover. Some of what I chose to view as humor was very dark. I‘m still not sure if I was supposed to laugh in those instances or not. TW for death and some graphic stuff relating to dying of AIDS. Overall, I highly recommend this one. It was very well done.
13th Balloon | 
