Atopia

Author: Sandra Simonds

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press (2019)

"Atopia writes out optimism, pessimism, exhaustion and potential action, writing around the potential, as well as the failure, of poetry, theory and art on political and social change"

–Rob McLennan

"Atopia speaks to the events of our time, brutal and unafraid."

–Dorothea Lasky

"The driving force of Atopia is how to carry on living while surrounded by all this fear―of capitalism, fascism, misogyny, bigotry, climate change, and internalized self-hatred and defeat. I can think of nothing more present and urgent than an interrogation of the paradox Atopia is a much needed epic poem that I was hungry to devour."

–Anne Barngrover

"A friend told me poets are maladjusted souls. Whatever! We have Sandra Simonds on our side, and this new book Atopia is something to give ourselves some proper maladjustments! Here is a poet I can easily imagine from the audience of Plato's speeches about how great slavery is for the Republic, telling the old man how lousy his governing ideas are, having Plato threaten to exile her from the city limits. This book rules my bookshelf! This book is a breastplate against weapons of enemies of the beautiful truth of this breathtaking world!"

–CA Conrad