Little Black Book

These poems are both daring and precisely made. There is powerful longing here, and, without a carefully measured restraint, this emotive force could derail the poems, but they remain richly evocative and ask for the reader to be present in numerous and surprising ways.

-Tim Seibles, Poet Laureate Emeritus of Virginia

We look for truth in poetry; but some poets tell the truth better than others; and so we have Chad Frame's Little Black Book with lists/poems of male lovers. Frame has the skill and talent to change circumstances and incidents to artistry, gifted with the authenticity we want in a poem. We tell our students, "Be more like yourself, more and more each poem." Now we can just say, "Read Chad Frame." He's not afraid of fear; he's not ashamed of shame. Plato talks of pleasure/pain; and neuroscientists can now measure it; but nowhere do we know more its balance than in fine poetry. Part autobiography, almost novella-in-verse, we have characters, situations, and plot, elevated by craft and lyric to make poetry. Frame ends his book with the words 'this buoyant heart is yours'-We say "ours, too." Little Black Book moves poetry forward.

-Grace Cavalieri, Poet Laureate of Maryland