A Little Middle of the Night

In her Iowa prize-winning debut, Brodak unveils a ductile yet confident use of language and a penchant for formal experimentation. Stark natural description sets the dreary mood in a world haunted by “a steady massacre of clouds.” Her poems vacillate between hermetic and accessible, often unveiling pleasurable surprises as the fog clears: “Wet licks of an animal on my ankle, oh say/ it’s a good thing. Take us out of here./ War begins inside of one person, imagine that.” Brodak often borrows language from writers old and new: one series includes quotes from poet Jorie Graham; there is also a “Melville novel, as abridged by me”; and even a cento entitled, “Joseph Conrad’s Last Novel (Which is Comprised Entirely of Face Color Used in His Previous Novels)”. Intertextual, funny, sharp, often elliptical yet surprisingly intimate, this is a strong debut. (Mar.)