BLOWING GRASS EMPIRE, Mark Lavorato

Mark Lavorato

Poetry
978-1-926794-53-2
18.95 CDN/ 17.95 US | Trade paperback
September 2018

A storyteller above all else, Mark Lavorato’s poems are penned in a clear, poignant, and relatable voice. His mostly narrative vignettes choose to hide things in plain sight, and are buoyed by an undercurrent of quiet power. The collection deals with themes that span the breadth of the contemporary world, taking the reader from the cringe-worthy “firsts” of a sun-dappled childhood, to places far outside our planet’s orbit. The only constant in Blowing Grass Empire is its consistent emotional resonance.

Praise for Mark Lavorato

Much like Raymond Carver’s poetry, Mark Lavorato’s work has the eloquence and emotional power of excellent short stories. His sentences and diction are clear and transparent, sincerely inviting the reader into the experiences they illumine: coming of age (and the coming of middle age), a sibling’s grief, love, friendship, childhood, and the promise of solitude. e e ect of this collection, like that of all good art, is to remind us of where we already are, of the passionate intricacies—and terrifying fragility—of our own lives.—Darren Bifford, author of Wedding in Fire Country, Hermit Crab, and False Spring