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the atmosphere is not perfume it is odorless

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Poems about timelessness and evolution, patriotism and criticism, empire and kin in 21st century America.

 

the atmosphere is not a perfume it is odorless is sweeping in scope and steeped in devotion for form and image. It is fundamentally a political work unique to America in the twenty-first century. It navigates 9/11, the January 6th insurrection, gun violence, whiteness, and the Bush and Trump administrations, all through a mystical and timeless lens, as poems written twenty years ago and ones written two years ago assert themselves with equal relevance. Poems in the collection leverage all of the freedoms of digital writing: ever-changing fonts, individually colored words, and dilated text catch the eye and recast the writing in new lights.

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Matthew Cooperman, a ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû graduate, is the author of several books, including the atmosphere is not a perfume it is odorless, a poetry collection published in 2024 by Free Verse Editions. He is also a Founding Editor of the exploratory prose journal Quarter After Eight, as well as Co-Poetry Editor for Colorado Review. Cooperman received his PhD in English from Ohio University. He is presently Professor of English at Colorado State University.

For its wrangling with difficult American moments. For its love of place and landscape as worthy subjects. For its inventiveness of form.

Author at ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû

Join us in person or on Thursday, September 25, for Matthew Cooperman’s reading and book signing. This event will be hosted by Peter Balakian and also include poets Vivek Narayanan and Jasmine Bailey. This event will take place at 4:30 ET in Persson Auditorium. Refreshments will be available.

This country I am concerned for, as is anybody for their home.

the atmosphere is not a perfume it is odorless