Laurie Blauner
Laurie Blauner is the author of nine books of poetry, five novels, and a book of hybrid nonfiction called I Was One of My Memories. A new novel is available from Spuyten Duyvil Press. Her latest poetry book, Come Closer, won the 2022 Library of Poetry Award from Bitter Oleander Press.
2024 Jack Straw Alumni Poetry Series:
“Come Closer, Laurie Blauner’s new collection of delicately wrought fables invites the reader into a delirium where unfamiliar and familiar realities combine. You can call these succinct yet lyrically sophisticated tales where it rains without raining, where birds open themselves like books. Possessing an unrivaled imagination . . . She is our storytelling Mary Shelley.”
–Stephanie Dickinson
How To Build Something of Use
Use a hammer, nails, glue, and any other available tools.
Get naked and let the dog watch, tilting its head in wonderment.
The anticipation of pain creates pain.
An unassembled chair might prefer to become a table.
Twist the knobs until they can’t go any further.
Measure everything with humor since nothing is forever.
The diagrams must overrun the inside of your head.
Don’t listen to friends, neighbors, or family.
Explain the long history of scrap metal.
Hide a small piece of yourself deeply inside.
