This is a brutally realistic book of poetry. By immersing himself in the particular details of his most meaningful moments, John Amen transforms hurt into poems that are both imaginative and lyrically expressive. With metaphoric daring and off-beat grace, he guides us through haunting and sometimes violent memories of roving through America's southland. Includes the 260 line poem-sequence "Portraits of Mary", hailed by poet Jared Smith as "perhaps the most complex, intricate, and thoroughly honest love poem in all of contemporary poetry". A thoroughly human book of memorable poems of great intensity by one of our best younger poets.

Poetry. THE NEW ARCANA is a multi-genre extravaganza featuring verse, fiction, mock journalism and academic writing, drama, and art. Both referencing and transcending various literary precedents, the book is a pronouncement for the 21st Century, an exploration of and commentary on the fast-paced and mercurial nature of life in the 2000s. Co-written by poets John Amen and Daniel Y. Harris, the book presents a compelling, jazz-like, and satirical style, a third voice born from the mingling of two distinct individual voices. THE NEW ARCANA is a memorable literary statement--a manifesto for our time--as well as a proclamation regarding the transformative qualities of true collaboration.