Devil's Roadtrip

T.S. Eliot talks about how our first instinct as critics is to remark on the departures a poet takes from tradition. Meaning that the most outrageous parts or language of the poem is what we notice and fall in love with first. Like Dean Young, Paisley Rekdal, or Clayton Eshelmann, these collected poems of Armando Gonzalez draw attention to the fact that certain poetry can be cutting edge, visionary, and completely different.

Prepare to fall in love with Armando's poetry. His poems are like explosions. Fantastic detonations. What his poetry proposes is nothing less than a full reconciliation of humankind's collapse with language, using nothing but line breaks and hope. These poems are a stunning vision of the humanity created by technology, runaway mega-corporations, constant media bombardment and general universal moral rot. These poems have the originality that accompanies great art. Armando's work takes on a life of its own. He manages to combine so many elements such as surrealism, science, visual art, and anthropology into a fascinating anthology. The best indicator of artistic integrity is its effect on people. These poems may confuse you. They may frustrate you. But they will dwell within you. And you will fall in love.