Reviews
"Like none other, Tony Tost conceals himself above the page ('a bird over the battlefield' of poetry) and watches as the poem unfolds on its own terms, like a tree contained in its seed. Tost also planted the seed, of course, and what's inside is 'a balance in the realism' that contains the bird's song, about to turn into the poet's magisterial recitation. And in Tost's revolutionary title poem, 'Complex Sleep,' the revolving of day and night becomes the inevitable 'dear repetition' of all we know: the alphabet sings, literally a to z."-David Rosenberg, coauthor,The Book of J(with Harold Bloom) andSee What You Think: Critical Essays for the Next Avant-Garde, "This reflexive and, yes, complex collection of procedurally nuanced anti-lyrics is a useful example of what is happening right now. Tostrs"s approach is speechy and textual by turns. He hypnotizes you with his tricks but then convinces you to concentrate on how good the work is. You wake up feeling refreshed and thinking how excellent it is to enjoy reading poetry this much! "-Laura Moriarty, "Like none other, Tony Tost conceals himself above the page ('a bird over the battlefield' of poetry) and watches as the poem unfolds on its own terms, like a tree contained in its seed. Tost also planted the seed, of course, and what's inside is 'a balance in the realism' that contains the bird's song, about to turn into the poet's magisterial recitation. And in Tost's revolutionary title poem, 'Complex Sleep, ' the revolving of day and night becomes the inevitable 'dear repetition' of all we know: the alphabet sings, literally a to z."--David Rosenberg, coauthor, "The Book of J "(with Harold Bloom) and "See What You Think: Critical Essays for the Next Avant-Garde", " Like none other, Tony Tost conceals himself above the page (' a bird over the battlefield' of poetry) and watches as the poem unfolds on its own terms, like a tree contained in its seed. Tost also planted the seed, of course, and what' s inside is ' a balance in the realism' that contains the bird' s song, about to turn into the poet' s magisterial recitation. And in Tost' s revolutionary title poem, ' Complex Sleep, ' the revolving of day and night becomes the inevitable ' dear repetition' of all we know: the alphabet sings, literally a to z." -- David Rosenberg, coauthor, "The Book of J "(with Harold Bloom) and "See What You Think: Critical Essays for the Next Avant-Garde", " This reflexive and, yes, complex collection of procedurally nuanced anti-lyrics is a useful example of what is happening right now. Tostrs" s approach is speechy and textual by turns. He hypnotizes you with his tricks but then convinces you to concentrate on how good the work is. You wake up feeling refreshed and thinking how excellent it is to enjoy reading poetry this much! " - Laura Moriarty, "This reflexive and, yes, complex collection of procedurally nuanced anti-lyrics is a useful example of what is happening right now. Tost's approach is speechy and textual by turns. He hypnotizes you with his tricks but then convinces you to concentrate on how good the work is. You wake up feeling refreshed and thinking how excellent it is to enjoy reading poetry this much! "--Laura Moriarty
