Tim Seibles is the author of Buffalo Head Solos (Cleveland State University Press, 2004), Hammerlock (Cleveland State University Press, 1999), Ten Miles an Hour (Mille Grazie Press, 1998), Kerosene (Ampersand Press, 1995), Hurdy-Gurdy (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 1992), and Body Moves (Corona Press, 1988). He is a former NEA fellow and has led workshops for Cave Canem and the Zora Neale Hurston-Richard Wright Foundation. He lives in Norfolk, Virginia, where he teaches courses for Old Dominion University’s English Department and M.F.A. in Writing Program. 

“From the ‘sweet scat’ and ‘jump rope hymns’ of wonder and wistfulness to the transformational, lithe, sexually charged energy of jazz, Hurdy-Gurdy earnestly explores the differences between what we want, what we get, and what we must be willing to pursue at any cost. This is an exciting book—at once fluid, shapely, and steady as stone—whose tensions lead us to an authentic meditative wholeness.” –Mark Cox

“This is not a poetry of the highfalutin violin nor the somber cello, but a melody you heard somewhere that followed you home. Elegant and silly, irreverent, fun and funny, Tim Seibles’ poetry celebrates the spirit’s little moments of holy joy.” –Sandra Cisneros

“Tim Seibles will get you in his hammerlock and won’t let you go till he has taken you into the center of American politics and pop culture, the minds of birds, the Tao te Ching, your body, your so-called color, your so-called race. He lights up everything he touches like the candle at the heart of the lantern. A houseful of voices speaks through him in language so tenable, you’ll at times feel bruised, at times made love to. I read a lot of poetry. I’ve never read poetry like this.” –Reginald McKnight

“Tim Seibles’ version of our changing and growing American speech range widely, from anguish to comedy, from transcendence to earthly bewilderment. The joy of reading these poems is like overhearing a very smart, crazy neighbor’s thoughts as they move between philosophical inquiry and praise for the everyday.” –Li-Young Lee

More Information:

Poetry Foundation

Academy of American Poets

From the Fishouse

Bucknell

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