Catastrophic Bliss

Myronn Hardy is the author of two previous books of poetry. Hedivides his time between New York City and Morocco.

“The only medicine is the voice,” Myronn Hardy tells us in his vivid and eloquent new collection of poems, Catastrophic Bliss, and what he tries to mend by speaking are the fractured cultures and landscapes that haunt contemporary consciousness. Hardy’s “voice” sings with fresh and arresting observations—“stingrays with pale/ undersides like hands”—and through them he explores the fragile co-existence of man and nature—the bliss of it and the catastrophe.

• Catastrophic BlissReticenceThe WalkMaking Stars with Jacob LawrenceThis Train Seeks DustLinens Near a Ghost TownHabitsJaguaripeRemoving Atmosphere: A SeascapeThe Gold RoomPlaying Chess on the AAubade: Blue HydrangeasPeaches?ba’s StewThe SermonCommunionBirthday FishThe LionFriday Night SightingGraze for the CaptainThreeThe SavedBlackberriesRobiezene’s CircleThe TellingThe Raft with Machado de AssisChemotherapy MoonWhat the Tide LeavesWine on King StreetMadrugadaMucamboRocketGrenadesTwo Baianas Beckon SorrowFelipe Loves MarilynRiver TracksBoa MorteReduxThe ResolvedExúRetonadosPlatoonRhythm in the Republic: Mr. PresidentSambaBilly Eckstine’s Felicidade: Rio de Janeiro, 1963Fado: Facing the SalonFado: SunsetFado: After the BalletDisiz La Peste: An InterviewInsha’AllahUndertonesWeekendThe PulseCrabs Fixate on RedNotesAcknowledgmentsAuthor BiographyThe Griot-Stadler Prize for Poetry