some kind book blurbs
"Hassen Saker is at the eye of the storm for a new generation, lyric & personal & analytic & tough, committed to no medium but the truth."
–Ron Silliman
"...Saker carefully dismantles sublimity’s power over language. "
–Jean Day
The dilemma Sky Journal poses is what to do with these precise evocative poems. I put an excerpt on my teacup “…some things require sustained perception”; on my window “degrees of horizon slither past”; to accompany my plants in the corner “slow going mess through fall in leaf bed to oh where i left off love blinks fifteen years”; and two places on my ceiling to catch the occasional “look skyward”. Re-encounter, immerse, savor and …. read them, yes but I suggest u do something with these fierce beautiful poems too.
–Natalie Jeremijenko
"I like how, in the poetry hassen writes, the writer largely disappears into words in motion, and the motions seem fresh with currents, breezes and eddies. something very tender survives that disappearance, tender and brave. hassen's poetry touches warmly, gives, hints, engages and stays grounded. it mediates and meditates with a resource of delight and integrity. I definitely like and admire this poetry."
~ Allen Bramhall
"…Listeners, please welcome the intensely focused fluid energy and three dimensional perspicacious magnifying glass that is hassen."
–Nada Gordon
Books
Sky Journal from Dusie Press
Salem - from Belladonna* Chapbook Series
Consolation Snacks from Furniture Press
Sky Journal is a book of poems about transformation;
a decade of scopes & firmament & visceral origami. Read more about it here.
Consolation Snacks from Furniture Press
Salem - from Belladonna* Chapbook Series
Consolation Snacks from Furniture Press
Hassen Saker invented a new poetic form she calls 'crabapples'. These consists of a title and one line that serves as an epigrammatic call and response. This book is a collection of about 150 of them. Named thusly because they're bite-sized, bitter, and they might sting a little when thrown at you.
Ashleigh Brillaint's generous blurb adorns the back:
"This is clever meaningful wordplay in the purest sense."
"At roughly 150 pages, this pocket-size guidebook of language's intricate associations spans philosophy, economics, art, culture, domestic life, music, film, stupid people and pets, composed on the fly between day jobs and life's responsibilities." - Furniture Press
Salem - from Belladonna* Chapbook Series
Salem - from Belladonna* Chapbook Series
Salem - from Belladonna* Chapbook Series
Salem started as an investigation into the phenomena of false confessions, or false guilt, that vulnerable people often experience in a domination culture where the dead, fearful mind succumbs to the irrational. This poetry project is also its own kind of judgment.