Petals of Zero Petals of One

Andrew Wessels reviews Andrew Zawacki's new collection, Petals of Zero Petals of One (Talisman House) at A Compulsive Reader:

The reuses of phonemes...for different purposes turns the poem into a delightful obstacle course, one the reader is required to pick through and consider closely each word and even each syllable. The importance of each detail in language becomes heightened. Zawacki seems to be also rebelling against the notion that when we read our brain can ‘recognize’ a word within a sentence in its first syllable, presenting us with example after example of situations where we can do [no] such thing, where we must wait patiently for the word to complete itself.

I share Wessels's enthusiasm for Zawacki's work—indeed, enough so that I will be embarking on a reading tour of the northeast with him this October. Further details to come.