{"product_id":"life-in-the-second-circle-michael-cantor-9780987870551","title":"Life in the Second Circle: Poems","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eLife in the Second Circle \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eis the first collection from Michael Cantor, finalist in the 2011 Able Muse Book Award. Cantor's poetry globe-trots in time and place. It teems with such culturally diverse characters and scenes as Genghis Khan and Muhammad Ali; a pithy \u003cem\u003emise-en-scène\u003c\/em\u003e of a Venice travelogue; Brighton Beach in Florida and its natives or \u003cem\u003eturistas;\u003c\/em\u003e and what can happen in Japan on \u003cem\u003etatami\u003c\/em\u003e mats or behind \u003cem\u003eshoji\u003c\/em\u003e screens, whether you're a geisha or samurai or \u003cem\u003egaijin\u003c\/em\u003e. His themes span the mystical to the hard-edged and \"badass,\" fluently deployed in formal poems in received or nonce forms and free verse. From the narrative to the imagistic and even the surreal, Cantor's versecraft is eclectic, brimming with wit and wisdom, and realized with the craft of a master storyteller. He has created a collection of unique pleasures not to be missed.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePRAISE FOR LIFE IN THE SECOND CIRCLE: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDante's second circle of hell was reserved for sins of lust, but Cantor's narrator does not judge his infernal cast of characters; rather, he causes us to identify with their essential human neediness. What's more, he does so through a cinematic gift for storytelling and a mastery of poetic form.\u003cbr\u003e - Julie Kane\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMichael Cantor uses words to paint and sculpt the world. He writes the world too--which I don't say as an afterthought, since verbal wit is Cantor's forte. \u003cem\u003eLife in the Second Circle\u003c\/em\u003e is a sensory kaleidoscope where the poems are more like movies.\u003cbr\u003e - Deborah Warren (from the \"Foreword\") \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo be called \"a poet's poet\" passes for a compliment among poets. Michael Cantor is another, rarer kind of poet--let's say \"a novelist's poet.\" This poet knows things that writers of fiction know about writing, and that other poets ignore at their peril. This extraordinary collection is testament to his unaffected generosity and genuine interest in other people, qualities that make him good company in person and in print.\u003cbr\u003e - Alfred Nicol\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis is not your mother's book of poems.\u003cbr\u003e - Wendy Videlock\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLike Muhammad Ali, one of the \"Box Men\" he celebrates in a virtuosic crown of sonnets, Cantor is a master of floating like a butterfly in a small, roped-off space. In his hands the most formidably difficult forms--villanelles, triolets, Petrarchan sonnets, sestinas, ballades, and equally rigorous stanzas of his own invention--become spurs to imaginative freedom. Like the vividly drawn characters who populate \u003cem\u003eLife in the Second Circle, \u003c\/em\u003e we are constantly reminded that \u003cem\u003eone never knows where life will go, or how or when or where.\u003c\/em\u003e But it's a pleasure to be along for the ride.\u003cbr\u003e - Catherine Tufariello\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABOUT THE AUTHOR: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMichael Cantor's work has appeared in \u003cem\u003eMeasure, The Dark Horse, The Raintown Review, Umbrella, SCR, Margie, Chimaera\u003c\/em\u003e and numerous other journals, e-zines and anthologies. His honors include the New England Poetry Club Erika Mumford (2006) and Gretchen Warren (2008) Prizes. He has been a finalist or semifinalist in the Howard Nemerov, Donald Justice, Richard Wilbur and Morton Marr Award competitions. A chapbook, \u003cem\u003eThe Performer, \u003c\/em\u003e was published by Pudding House Press in 2007. A native New Yorker, he has lived and worked in Japan, Europe and Latin America, and now lives on Plum Island, MA.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Michael Cantor\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0987870556\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780987870551\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Able Muse Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/22\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 130\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.44lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.31d","brand":"Michael Cantor","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46451035209983,"sku":"9780987870551","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_894a85d5-f7b2-44b4-b3fd-ac827eec00e6.jpg?v=1735876238","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/life-in-the-second-circle-michael-cantor-9780987870551","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}