This is the Ocean, the award-winning second book by Writing Program Continuing Lecturer Robert Krut, has been released by Bona Fide Books. Krut’s poetry collection claimed the publisher’s 2012 Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize. “The themes and images in this book really got under my skin,” says Kim Wyatt, publisher of Bona Fide Books, which awards the prizewinner publication, a cash prize and a reading at Lake Tahoe. “It reads like cinema, or like a dream, and it made me see things in a new way.”
In conjunction with the book release, Krut will be doing a California book tour, with stops throughout the state. The Santa Barbara event will be held on Thursday, October 24 at 5 pm, at The Blue Agave (downtown). Part of the local Penny Reading Series, the reading will also feature two current UCSB creative writing students, Chris Cubbison and Mel Rosenberg.
Advance praise for the collection has included:
“Forget you think you know your body, or your place. To be in a Krut poem is to have a new experience of ‘reality,’ both physical and mental. Krut writes poems that re-arrange our molecules.” --Sarah Maclay, author of Music for the Black Room
“We already know that the world is falling apart, that consciousness (& maybe even language itself) is broken. It’s the future, after all. Enter Robert Krut, the calmest man left on the planet, the last good guy standing. He somehow manages to take in all the craziness, all the fracture & color, & process it according to operational parameters we humans used to call emotions. He helps us see the electric ground we’re standing on.” --Nate Pritts, author of Right Now More Than Ever
“The wonder and the wisdom of these poems will burn in your memory like the bright neon of a pier's Ferris wheel.” --Oliver de la Paz, author of Requiem for the Orchard
“This Is the Ocean is alive with transformative power, images that sizzle, beautiful uncertainties and quiet humanity. It is a memorable and compelling book.” --Beckian Fritz Goldberg, author of Reliquary Fever: Selected Poems
Robert Krut has taught with the Writing Program since 2003; he also teaches creative writing and literature in the College of Creative Studies. In addition to This is the Ocean, he is the author of The Spider Sermons (2009, BlazeVox Books), and his poems have appeared widely in both print and online journals.
A relatively young press, Bona Fide Press has quickly established itself with a national presence. Publishing both poetry and literary essay collections, its authors have received notice through prestigious awards such as The Foreward Book of the Year, “The Best New Poets” series, and the Paterson Poetry Prize; in addition, its authors have been selected for textbook inclusion.
The book is available through all typical avenues, including the publisher itself (http://www.bonafidebooks.com/this-is-the-ocean/) and Amazon (http://amzn.com/1936511088); bookstore/library orders can go through the publisher or Small Press Distribution (http://www.spdbooks.org/Producte/9781936511082/this-is-the-ocean.aspx?rf=1).
