Inventory by Frank Lima (denim jacket edition)

Hard Press Editions, 1997. I might argue that Frank Lima is the most unappreciated poet in the history of people (and poets) being under-appreciated. This book is simply amazing. These are love poems that for once, feel alive with the joy of memory instead of crippled by what has been lost. Lima moves in and out of spanish seamlessly, but remains in conversation with poets like Neruda and Lorca (and Ginsberg, Shapiro, Koch, etc etc etc) through epigraphs, quotes, and epistolaries. They remind me of Neruda's erotic and sparse love poems, but with a modern New York City twist. Like a poem you might find in a dirty trashcan, brush off, and carry with you. This book is the first whole book of poetry I ever read. It's much of the reason everything poetry related afterwards has happened. I love this book. A sample:

"Poem From Amor" from Inventory.