Compression & Purity

The fifth volume of our Spotlight poetry series, Compression & Purity is a new collection of poetry by Los Angeles-based African American surrealist Will Alexander. Known for densely textured visionary epics influenced by poets like Aim C saire and C sar Vallejo, Alexander here returns to shorter forms to address his ecological, cosmological, and historical concerns. Highlights include a monologue from the perspective of "The Blood Penguin," a song by the "New Water on Mars," and Alexander's autobiographical lyric essay, "My Interior Vita," describing the evolution of his artistic consciousness through jazz and surrealism. Compression & Purity confirms Alexander's reputation among surrealism's foremost contemporary practitioners.