Zodiac of Echoes is a marvelous linguistic fusion of these diverse cultures and geographies. Rarely do we see a truly international poetry so powerfully articulated in language that is as at home in the American landscape and vernacular as it is in the music, imagery, and politics of Mattawa’s native country.
ISBN: 9781931337045
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781931337168
Format: Paperback
Reviews
“Kaleidescopic [sic] in structure and movement, daringly personal yet intensely political, his verse encompasses narrative, satire, meditation, and high-spirited hilarity… Line by line we turn from zany wisecracks about globalization to solemn invocations of the moon, from intensely felt lyricism to splintered, televisual, attention-fractured deferrals of feeling. Mattawa’s images deliver strong sensations, his humor moves briskly, his phrases take startling turns, and his cadences roll and return and build momentum. These dazzling lyrics and sequences create one of the most compelling portraits we have of a mind, a sensibility, a language emerging from the hybridization of cultures.” —Jahan Ramazani
“Zodiac of Echoes is Mattawa’s gorgeously lyrical, powerfully written effort to take stock of his American place and citizenship, and, as such, it avoids many of the pitfalls of exile literature: nostalgia, lack of humor and self irony, a narrow focus… Mattawa’s language is sensual and powerful. His openness to the world around him, his political and emotional engagement, are done with delight, insight, and magnanimous detail. One feels transported and embraced, but never overwhelmed; emotionally engaged, but the poems are not sentimental or nostalgic. Mattawa’s disarming narrative style inspires a well-rewarded trust.” —Marcela Sulak