This is a powerful and inspiring study of the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter: the only student-run shelter in the United States. Every winter night the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter brings together society's most privileged and marginalized groups under one roof: Harvard students and the homeless. What makes the shelter unique is that it is operated entirely by Harvard College students. It is the only student-run homeless shelter in the United States. "Shelter" demonstrates how the juxtaposition of privilege and poverty inside the Harvard Square Shelter proves transformative for the homeless men and women taking shelter there, the Harvard students volunteering there, and the wider society into which both groups emerge each morning. In so doing, "Shelter" makes the case for the replication of this student-run model in major cities across the United States. Inspiring and energizing, "Shelter" offers a unique window into the lives of America's poorest and most privileged citizens as well as a testament to the powerful effects that can result when members of these opposing groups come together.

This is a powerful and inspiring study of the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter: the only student-run shelter in the United States. Every winter night the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter brings together society's most privileged and marginalized groups under one roof: Harvard students and the homeless. What makes the shelter unique is that it is operated entirely by Harvard College students. It is the only student-run homeless shelter in the United States. Shelter demonstrates how the juxtaposition of privilege and poverty inside the Harvard Square Shelter proves transformative for the homeless men and women taking shelter there, the Harvard students volunteering there, and the wider society into which both groups emerge each morning. In so doing, Shelter makes the case for the replication of this student-run model in major cities across the United States. Inspiring and energizing, Shelter offers a unique window into the lives of America's poorest and most privileged citizens as well as a testament to the powerful effects that can result when members of these opposing groups come together.

The Armpit of Desire explores internal and external realities with desire as the backdrop and central reference for the human condition. Siders can lure you in with a conversational, rapid-fire delivery, but then subdue you with a confident and reflective, if not suggestive, voice. He is quick to turn a phrase, yet control is maintained throughout, but just barely, and you get a sense that there's always a degree of risk-an idea or emotion taken too far-but he pulls it off at every turn, almost to your surprise. Siders reveals his versatility in some of the standouts in this collection, including The Right Light, After Before, Offering, Last New Look, Wet Paint, and the title poem. Perhaps the most provocative, clever, and stylistically risky poem is 5 Cracks, whose unforgettable personalities evoke a sense of both bravado and surrender. The appeal of this collection is its inclusiveness, its glimpse into the various guises of desire, its unapologetic insistence that we step over our usual / ten-dollar worn-out excuses, trip over / the unknowable, and pretend / we understand the reasons / for our disillusionment.