Kevin Prufer's recent books include The Art of Fiction, Churches, and How He Loved Them, which was long-listed for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize. His work has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Lannan Foundation, and the Poetry Society of American and appeared on "best of the year" lists in The New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, BookList, and others. Prufer has also edited or co-edited many volumes, including New European Poetry, Into English: Poems, Translations, Commentary, and Literary Publishing in the 21st Century. He teaches in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston, where he co-directs The Unsung Masters Series, a book series devoted to bringing great but little-known authors to new generations of readers.

Praise for The Fears

"Picking up a collection of Prufer's poems feels, to me at least, like settling into a favorite reading chair for the afternoon: he has found a form that mimics the way his own brain works, and given up the endless search for something new. A reader doesn't have to learn a new language, and Prufer can focus on his real subject matter."--Susanna Lang, Rhino Poetry

Praise for Kevin Prufer

"A gothic extravaganza featuring alligators, avalanches and medical devices left inside bodies, delivered largely in long, musical free verse lines. Poetry at full boil, poured with deliberate abandon." --David Orr, The New York Times Book Review

"Prufer's skillful use of traditional form; the presence of rhyme, meter, sonnets, and ars poeticae creates a complex and rich collection." --American Poet

"I don't believe the box of notes you admit carrying in your pocket can be described by you as a simple record of the times. In truth, the poems [of How He Loved Them] delineate a passion for the world in eloquent and profound ways, vividly understandable when conveyed to the reader." --Judge's comments, 2018 Julie Suk Award

"Intimacy, clarity of feeling, subtle music--these are the hallmarks of the lyric poem, and all three of these attributes are found in ["My Newspapers,"] my selection for the Lyric Poetry Award." --Mark Wunderlich, Poetry Society of America

"[Prufer's] work is deep, but never goes too far. He makes you think about the world, the country, and yourself in such an analytical way." --Britney Gulbrandsen

"Kevin Prufer has courage and compassion. And he places words so beautiful and accurate and terrifying along a line you can't help but read to the end." --Marie Howe

Publisher: Copper Canyon Press

Pub date: 2023-10-03

Length: 96 pages