The First Noble Truth

Steve Kowit’s poetry is shamelessly accessible, written in something close to the real language that we speak. Yet in Kowit’s hands it is language that is both luminous and lyrical. His poems are sometimes hilariously funny, sometimes fiercely political, sometimes slyly anecdotal, and sometimes all these things at once. His latest book, winner of the Tampa Review Prize for Poetry, will confirm the observation of Thomas Lux that Kowit “has more energy, more passion, more fire, and more humor in his left little finger than most poets have in their whole bodies.”