Captive
"Martin Ott's premiere collection is dark and dazzling. The speaker inCaptiveis like a captive himself, perhaps a former soldier or interrogator, held captive in memory, dreaming in feverish braids of time and place: the cold war, Irq, Moscow, Mexico, and some unnamed places - the kind where men arrive manacled and hooded. And yet light breaks through these pomes like an 'alchemy of daybreak.' Like a father walking with his infant daughter on his chest in a baby-pack, passing through a gauntlet of smiles and warm greetings."- Richard Garcia, author ofRancho NotoriousMore and more while judging this contest I found myself drawn to Martin Ott's CAPTIVE and compelled to read and re-read the pages. No explanatory notes, no stanza breaks to ease the way, no gimmicks or prettiness of form. Instead, consistently tough, unwavering poems displaying a wide knowledge of the world its brutality and beauty and a keen, appreciative eye on the hard-won pleasures of the personal and private. I encourage the reader to jump headfirst into these poems, to rise to their challenge, listen to their haunting truths, and celebrate their song. --Gaylord Brewer, De Novo Prize JudgeI don't know if Martin Ott's years as an interrogator in army intelligence influence the way he recreates reality but it makes me wonder as I read the poems in this marvelous collection. --Rick Bursky, author of Death ObscuraMartin Ott's premiere collection of poems is dark and dazzling. The speaker in Captive is like a captive himself, perhaps a former soldier or interrogator, held captive in memory, dreaming in feverish braids of time and place. --Richard Garcia, author of The Flying Garcias