Local poet and lecturer at the University of Illinois Matthew Minicucci was awarded the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize from Kent State University in 2014. The prize, one of the most prestigious in the nation, is given to a previously unpublished poet, comes with a little money, and publishes the author’s first book.
Translation is the resulting collection, and adjectives like “deeply original and profoundly moving” (Jane Hirshfield) and “beautiful, unflinching” (Kathleen Graber) are not bandied around lightly, not even at poets.
I’m looking forward to reading it, and Arts will run a proper review once we get our copy from Kent State University Press. Why don’t you beat me to the punch, though? We’ll compare notes later.