Selected Poems of Steve Dalachinsky

Praise for Steve Dalachinsky:

“Steve Dalachinsky is a poet of the real world in a time when reality is despised, dismissed, not understood or lied about.“—Amiri Baraka

“In these times of cautious and pious reverence and calculated irreverence, Steve Dalachinsky was the real deal: he wrote and spoke from the soul, his only credentials a crystal ear, hard-won experience, and a huge heart. Listen up.“—Ammiel Alcalay

“This book is a vital document of the years that straddled the millennium of a rapidly changing New York; a tribute to a city where art, music, and poetry were the lifeblood of human consciousness.“—Cisco Bradley

“The honesty of the voice in these pieces is unimpeachable.“—Matthew Shipp

“Every scholar & lover of new jazz and spontaneous poetry should know this book by heart. It is a gem of its Time.“—Anne Waldman

“Steve Dalachinsky was an evocator, stirred by the banshee cries of wailing saxophones… A steersman who guided us through the fog of unspeakable beauty. We are lost without him.“—Tom Surgal

“Mr. Dalachinsky, beholden to the Beats but seasoned by meaner times, recited with a jazz-horn flow.“—Steve Smith, New York Times

Steve Dalachinsky (1946-2019) was a poet and collagist born and raised in Brooklyn. An autodidact deeply involved with free jazz, his published works include The Final Nite Other Poems: Complete Notes from Charles Gayle Notebook, 1987-2007 (winner of the 2007 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Book Award), Where Night and Day Become One: French Poems, A Superintendent’s Eyes, and the collaboration with French photographer Jacques Biceglia, Reaching into the Unknown. Dalachinsky collaborated with numerous musicians on albums and performances internationally. He also curated exhibitions at the Knitting Factory, contributed music criticism to The Brooklyn Rail, and sold records. He resided primarily in Manhattan.

Yuko Otomo is a visual artist and poet originally from Nagasaki, Japan. Her work also encompasses translation, criticism, and essays. Otomo’s abstract art has been exhibited widely. Her books include Anonymous Landscape, PINK, Garden: Selected Haiku, and STUDY, as well as FROZEN HEATWAVE, a collaboration with Steve Dalachinsky. She lives in Manhattan.

Michael Ruby is a poet, editor, and journalist. He has authored nine poetry collections, most recently Sounds of Summer in the Country. He is also the co-editor of Bernadette Mayer’s Eating the Colors of a Lineup of Words and her collaborative work with Lewis Warsh, Piece of Cake. Ruby spent many years as an editor for U.S. news and political articles at The Wall Street Journal and resides in Brooklyn.