All at Once: Prose Poems

All at Once: Prose Poems

<p>Short, sharp musings on things profound and mundane (and sometimes both) from the Pulitzer Prize winning poet<br><br>C. K. Williams has never been afraid to push the boundaries of poetic form--in fact, he's known for it, with long, lyrical lines that compel, enthrall, and ensnare. In his latest work, <i>All at Once</i>, Williams again embodies this spirit of experimentation, carving out fresh spaces for himself and surprising his readers once more with inventions both formal and lyrical.<br> Somewhere between prose poems, short stories, and personal essays, the musings in this collection are profound, personal, witty, and inventive--sometimes all at once. Here are the starkly beautiful images that also pepper his poems: a neighbor's white butane tank in March "glares in the sunlight, raw and unseemly, like a breast inappropriately unclothed in the painful chill." Here are the tender, masterful sketches of characters Williams has encountered: a sign painter and skid-row denizen who makes an impression on the young soon-to-be poet with his "terrific focus, an intensity I'd never seen in an adult before." And here are a husband's hymns to his beloved wife, to her laughter, which "always has something keen and sweet to it, an edge of something like song."<br> This is a book that provokes pathos and thought, that inspires sympathy and contemplation. It is both fiercely representative of Williams's work and like nothing he's written before--a collection to be admired, celebrated, and above all read again and again.</p>