The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years is a book forged from the remnants of life's struggles. Using materials that are both sharp and surprising, Katsimbras crafts a language of what he describes as "clean brutality." Within these pages, we witness the drought-stricken West devolving into the rib bones of coyotes, each animal sliced into ribbons and tied around dusk. Families are shattered, marriages crumble, and relationships fail. Yet, amidst the emptiness that lingers in the spaces between names, the true magic lies in the act of existing while so much fades away.

Although the poems unflinchingly confront pain, Katsimbras infuses them with a fierce sense of protection and love. The bond between father and son emerges as a rebellion against historical patterns-a commitment, etched in ink and blood, to break a cycle of paternal harm and to offer a genuine light, even if it is simply a single bare bulb, illuminating the encroaching darkness.