The New Economy

"Hopelessness is a beloved enemy in these poems, a necessary muse. So are grief and fear. “The days I don’t want to kill myself/ are extraordinary,” begins the most affirming poem about suicide I’ve ever read. All of our violence, Gabrielle Calvocoressi asserts – with a compassion so pure it feels out of step with the times – is born of fear: Violence begins in each of us, is always inflicted first upon ourselves. These poems urge us to do better – we must. The collection was a finalist for the National Book Award."