Little Cliffs by Paul Naylor

“Identity, nature, mind, matter, existence, and—especially—language’s relation to all this: for those of us disturbed by these things (because we know there’s no escape), Little Cliffs is an essential text. Inflected by a serious engagement with Zen Buddhist text and practice, and pervaded by the look and feel of the semi-arid landscapes surrounding San Diego (‘little cliffs’ is ‘Penasquitos’ in Spanish, the name of the canyon near his suburban home), Paul Naylor’s text is a deeply intelligent turned-round-and-round-in-the-palm-of-your-hand series of reflections, in short elegant prose passages, about who and where we think we are, and what we think we’re after.”

—Norman Fischer, poet and Zen Buddhist priest, author of Nature, There was a clattering as…, and The Museum of Capitalism

“Little Cliffs is a philosophical adventure story. Both characters (Kai and Chishō) and narrator struggle to transcend binaries while wandering the brushy canyonland of eastern San Diego and studying “The Uncertainty Sutra,” The Rule-Governed Sutra, “The Sutra That Shouldn’t Be Written,” etc. Narration enacts choice. Here choices are made, unmade, and remade in a prose poem as serious and light as a sutra.”

—Rae Armantrout, author of Wobble and Conjure

Little Cliffs is Paul Naylor’s eighth full-length book of poetry—following Playing Well With Others (Singing Horse Press, 2004), Arranging Nature (Chax Press, 2006), Jammed Transmission (Tinfish Press, 2009), Book of Changes (Shearsman Books, 2012), Anarcheology (Talisman House Books, 2018), Luminous Ruse (Tinfish Press, 2019), and Not Quite Noon (Dos Madres Press, 2020).He is also the author of Poetic Investigations: Singing the Holes in History (Northwestern University Press, 1999), a critical study of five contemporary poets—Susan Howe, Nathaniel Mackey, Lyn Hejinian, Kamau Brathwaite, and M. Nourbese Philip. A recovering academic, Naylor lives in San Diego with his wife, Debi, and daughter, Siena.

Book Information:

· Paperback: 136 pages
· Binding: Perfect-Bound
· Publisher: BlazeVOX [books]
· ISBN: 978-1-60964-389-8

$16

Little Cliffs by Paul Naylo… by BlazeVOX [books]