{"title":"Kai Carlson-Wee","description":"\u003cp\u003eKai Carlson-Wee is the author of \u003cem\u003eRail\u003c\/em\u003e (BOA, 2018). He has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and his work has appeared in \u003cem\u003eNarrative, Best New Poets, TriQuarterly, Blackbird,\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eGulf Coast,\u003c\/em\u003e and\u003cem\u003e The Missouri Review\u003c\/em\u003e, which awarded him the 2013 Editor’s Prize. His photography has been featured in \u003cem\u003eNarrative Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e and his co-directed poetry film, \u003cem\u003eRiding the Highline\u003c\/em\u003e, received jury awards at the 2015 Napa Valley Film Festival and the 2016 Arizona International Film Festival. With his brother Anders, he has co-authored two chapbooks, \u003cem\u003eMercy Songs\u003c\/em\u003e (Diode Editions) and \u003cem\u003eTwo-Headed Boy \u003c\/em\u003e(Organic Weapon Arts), winner of the 2015 Blair Prize. A former Wallace Stegner Fellow, he lives in San Francisco and is a lecturer at Stanford University.  For more information about Kai Carlson-Wee, visit \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/kaicarlsonwee.com\/\" title=\"Visit Kai Carlson-Wee's homepage\"\u003ekaicarlsonwee.com\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"rail","title":"Rail","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\n\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFinalist for\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e the 2018 Balcones Poetry Prize\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet against a landscape of rail yards and skate parks, Kai Carlson-Wee’s debut collection captures a spiritual journey of wanderlust, depression, brotherhood, and survival. These poems—a “verse novella” in documentary form—build momentum as they travel across the stark landscapes of the American West: hopping trains through dusty prairie towns, swapping stories with mystics and outlaws, skirting the edges of mountains and ridges, heading ever westward to find meaning in the remnants of a ruined Romantic ideal. Part cowboy poet, part prophet, Carlson-Wee finds beauty in the grit and kinship among strangers along the road.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eFrom \"\u003cstrong\u003eWhere the Feeling Deserts Us\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI pull up the blanket\u003cbr\u003eto cover my bare arms. Cool air filled\u003cbr\u003ewith the pressures of falling dew. This is the best\u003cbr\u003eI can give for a reason—the metal accepts you,\u003cbr\u003ewhoever you are. The train you are riding will only\u003cbr\u003ego forward. The straight line is perfectly clear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003cem\u003eRAIL\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-link=\"true\" data-width=\"auto\" data-isbn=\"9781942683582\" class=\"bm-reviews\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eRail\u003c\/em\u003e is a lovely book, strong and inspired.” —\u003cstrong\u003eRobert Bly\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“This is a wholly unique and powerful collection of poems. The sense of purpose puts one in mind of Whitman’s ‘Song of the Open Road.’ Encounters with fellow vagabonds recalls the tramp-poetry of Vachel Lindsay. But the darker need to search for meaning in the American plains and points farther west—a vastness forlorn and almost unknowable—belongs to the particular vision of this poet. His journey through our national ambiguity discovers a flicker in our roots, a spark popping from obscurity that rises into the heavens. The lived experience behind these deft and subtle poems seems necessary, and reiterates the fact that resilience is not only a feature of the American character, it is a recurring tenet of American art.” —\u003cstrong\u003eMaurice Manning\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Brotherly love, a sense of displacement and lost time, and the deep care that reminds us of our humanity, form the heart of this book. These poems are a scavengers guide, a survivalist manifesto, a reminder of the way our daily experiences can fuel and forge our faith. A hauntingly beautiful and unusual debut.” —\u003cstrong\u003eDorianne Laux\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Equal parts dithyramb and lament, the great American bardic tradition celebrates lonesome wandering even as it hungers for enduring communion. Kai Carlson-Wee is a worthy inheritor of its dusty mantle, worn by Whitman and Kerouac before him, and \u003cem\u003eRail\u003c\/em\u003e is a moving testament to the territories of freight trains, Minnesota roads, dumpster diving, and brotherhood. ‘The road goes on. With or without us.’ Yes, but how much better to have this unforgettable music to guide the way.” —\u003cstrong\u003eCampbell McGrath\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e© BOA Editions, Ltd. 2018\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BOA Editions, Ltd.","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45961636282597,"sku":"9781942683582","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback (Signed)","offer_id":45961636315365,"sku":"9781942683583","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/0178\/products\/Rail_FC.jpg?v=1527683326"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/0178\/collections\/Kai_Faceshot_Haynes_Small_BOA.jpg?v=1486581460","url":"https:\/\/shop.boaeditions.org\/collections\/kai-carlson-wee.oembed","provider":"Boa Editions","version":"1.0","type":"link"}