Blackout Starlight brings together a selection of poems from nine previously published books, along with a generous assortment of new work. At the heart of this collection are investigations of the role of eros, language, and creative life, and of the wonder and anxiety of their absence. In Bond’s telling, the lines between real and unreal, living and dead, blur together in the poet’s imagination, casting an equally compassionate eye upon “the man we see writhing in the marble” of an uncarved statue and the son at a funeral trying to face “the other half of life, the part / without my father in it.”
Taken together, the selections in this book represent the highlights of a dazzling career in poetry and leave the reader eager for many more years of Bond’s verses to come.
Bruce Bond is the author of thirty books including, most recently, Behemoth, The Calling, and Patmos. His work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including seven editions of Best American Poetry. He is the Regents Emeritus Professor of English at the University of North Texas.
