Ancient Book of Hip
by DW Lichtenberg, winner of the 2009 MRBA
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"There is a real zest in these poems. They combine understatement and overstatement to create a world of their own. The frolicking language dealing with complex subjects results in a real poetic tension and a new voice. There's a lot of pain in this collection, but it doesn't wear its heart on its sleeve. It taunts and mocks the emotions it has indulged in and often the result is oddly touching. Lichtenberg's joy in the every day reminds me of the daily pleasures as Frank O'Hara embraced them."
- John Skoyles, author of Generous Strangers & poetry editor of Ploughshares
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"DW Lichtenberg writes poems that admirably resist the urge to sound poetic. Instead, he mines the random, the banal - 'a mountain of little not paying attentions' - for hidden moments of bright causality. Whether riding the subway or 'talking shit about a pretty sunset,' his is a highly entertaining new voice that will win you over with its combination of disarming simplicity and incisive wit."
- Elaine Equi, author of Ripple Effect
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