Self-Portrait as Jerry Quarry

Vito Aiuto’s poems are funny, heartbreaking, and serious as Hell. They borrow from the blue-collar ethos of Philip Levine, the lexical playfulness of Frank O’Hara, the anxious self-deprecating wit of Mark Halliday, and the theological insight of J.I. Packer, but the voice we hear is nothing if not singular. In the course of these terse yet panoramic fables, John Calvin shares the spotlight with journeyman pugilists, doubt and faith, a wife, a lost father, consumerism, God, a guy named Mess . . . Moreover, Aiuto thrills and frightens us. Part confession and part stand-up routine, Self-Portrait as Jerry Quarry refuses to shy away from sin or the awkward business of atonement.