Odalisque (Salt Publishing)
(from the publisher:)Mark Salerno's compelling poem sequence interweaves scenes and stories in an intimate soundtrack that sweeps through modern Los Angeles. A cop and a hooker become a "scrivener" and an "odalisque" - a lover and a beloved, who, line by line, scene by scene, reveal their affair in a bitter script that tours the city streets, taking in actresses and immigrants, beauty school students, dreamers and discontents. Sexy, intriguing and expertly realized, this book raids our auditory memory, like cultural outtakes of a dark collective unconscious, and as we listen in and watch the pieces fall perfectly into place.
Mark Salerno is the author of Hate (96 Tears Press), Method (The Figures) and So One Could Have (Red Hen Press). Method was a Finalist in the National Poetry Series. From 1993 to 1999, he edited Arshile: A Magazine of the Arts. His work has appeared in numerous magazines, including Chicago Review, Denver Quarterly, Exquisite Corpse, First Intensity and Talisman. He is the recipient of a Fund for Poetry award.
(photo: Paul Zollo)