Late Arrival

Susan Dines has an eye for formal innovation, an ear for wild musicality, and a willingness for whimsy. With their surprising juxtapositions, their often eye-catching metaphors, and their ever-present sonic vitality, the poems in Late Arrival remind us that poetry always ought to surprise and delight.

-Gerry LaFemina, author, After The War for Independence

To "excavate the essential marvel...from every heavy thing" (a line from her poem "The Cracker Jack Prize") is never easy. But in Late Arrival, Susan Dines appears to accomplish it effortlessly. This compelling collection reads like the best modern fiction but is firmly rooted in hale and sometimes harrowing reality. Dines' story skills are superb, her way with words is a wonder, and while her poems' lines and diction dance and whirl, particularly when read aloud, her astute observational minings retain their essential earthiness and always arrive right on time.

-John Burroughs, U.S. National Beat Poet Laureate (2022-2023)

Wry comedy, high drama, and a delirium of sonorous language combine to make these poems completely captivating. A wonderful debut collection.

-April Bernard