Keep this Forever

“Halliday’s is an entire poetics of the available?a direct, often quietly comic voice capable of piercing emotional climaxes or bracingly tart cynicism.”?Ken Tucker, The New York Times Book Review

"A modern romantic poet, Halliday is wittily alert to our social interactions, whether he's making poetry out of everyday cell-phone chatter and business jargon, or describing a tedious, niceties-filled evening at a social-obligation party with a doleful deadpan."?Entertainment Weekly

There are many voices within these poems, each distinct and accessible, all of them subversive and disarmingly personal. This nimble poet deftly lures readers to his penetrating observations by not being afraid to open his own emotional veins; he often leads the way with a torch lit by his own pain. Yet his beguiling humor paradoxically occupies the same space as his deepest grief, bringing honest perspective and insight to the most sorrowful circumstance.

Often, his self effacement can be subterfuge; in a moment his razor wit can catch you off guard and expose a veiled truth emanating from an almost tribal wisdom. These are smart, clear poems that echo with simplicity and honesty, resonating well beyond the personal, for Halliday’s unpretentious droll voice is an instrument finely tuned to invoke a more thoughtful comprehension of the commonality of human experience.

Mark Halliday has published four books of poetry. He has won the Juniper Prize and was selected for the National Poetry Series. He is also the author of two books of literary criticism. Halliday has a PhD in English from Brandeis University, and currently teaches at Ohio University.