Fancy Beasts: Poems

"A master of negative empathy, Lemon spelunks through the brain's darker convolutions and clearly enjoys testing the reader's limits.--"Library Journal", starred review"Full of raw energy, up-to-date in its slang and its jump cuts, effervescent with the playfulness and sometimes the angers of youth, the third collection from Lemon conveys a likable, outsized personality." --"Publishers Weekly""Life cleverly and joyfully rages in Alex Lemon's poems."--Major Jackson"Alex Lemon dazzles us with his ability to slice straight through nerve and marrow on his way to the heart and mind of the matter."--Tracy K. Smith""Fancy Beasts" is a terrific book by one of the best younger poets at work today."--Kevin Prufer"This book will likely appeal most to twenty-somethings with an emo/hipster bent, but even older readers will be impressed by Lemon's calculated audacity."--"Library Journal" (starred review)"Full of raw energy, up-to-date in its slang and its jump cuts, effervescent with the playfulness and sometimes the angers of youth, the third collection from Lemon (Hallelujah Blackout) conveys a likable, outsized personality; it should also work well in tandem with the Texas-based poet's forthcoming memoir, Happy (Scribner, 2010). Like Tony Hoagland, Lemon is often self-conscious about the volatilities his poems convey, about their almost giddy tonalities, but he will not apologize for himself: adult life is a scary gift, a fast trip, a set of close encounters with 'this fizzing pier life.'"--"Publishers Weekly"