Centaur (Brittingham Prize in Poetry)
"Centaurtestifies to the grave fact that humans can harm each other until they want to trade in their bodies: 'I want to feel alive,' says the man seeking to become a centaur as the book begins. This is a masterful poetic debut marked by lyric brilliance and difficult, yet gleaming, wisdom."—Katie Ford, author ofColosseum"The terrific, turbulent poems in Greg Wrenn'sCentaurseem as much etched as written—acid-exact, black promises on white possibilities, lines and space crosshatched with thrilling precision. These poems will startle you at first, and then haunt you long after."—J. D. McClatchy, editor ofThe Yale Reviewand author ofHazmat"These powerful poems mark the aliveness, suffering, and sensuality of the body. They map out erotic adventures and the loneliness of human need. They flout danger with superb lyric craft. But they don't stop there. Each poem offers a paradigm of yearning held together by a rare excellence of language and music. This is a marvelous debut collection."—Eavan Boland, author ofA Journey with Two Maps"The magic here, like the best magic, transforms with each encounter. Fluid, tempered, atmospheric:Centauris a beautiful, encompassing debut."—Terrance Hayes, Brittingham Prize judge and National Book Award winner