Place Comfortable with Fire

Milkereit explores the powerful tensions between the cynic and the romantic, revealing how these two must learn to co-exist. The cynical voice, insisting that an "orange soda contains formaldehyde," lives together with the man in love who marvels that his lover's shoulders are "two hushed magnolia petals." Of note in this collection is the sheer brilliance of Milkereit's titles. Often alluding to other famous works, his titles are so exquisitely wrought that reading the table of contents becomes a poem in and of itself. Not to be missed, A Place Comfortable with Fire is Milkereit's strongest work to date. His poems take flight like "pale green moths" escaping "a bank vault." His newest collection is "a message sent to the galaxy."

Gabrielle Langley

Author of Fairy Tale and Azaleas on Fire