“Matthew Zapruder’s poems are among the friendliest in contemporary poetry … Zapruder’s new book, “Father’s Day,” is firmly situated in its (and our) political moment, and is anchored by a compelling gravity and urgency.” (Washington Post)
The poems in Matthew Zapruder’s fifth collection ask, how can one be a good father, partner, and citizen in the early twenty-first century? Zapruder deftly improvises upon language and lyricism as he passionately engages with these questions during turbulent, uncertain times. Whether interrogating the personalities of the Supreme Court, watching a child grow off into a distance, or tweaking poetry critics and hipsters alike, Zapruder maintains a deeply generous sense of humor alongside a rich vein of love and moral urgency. The poems in Father’s Day harbor a radical belief in the power of wonder and awe to sustain the human project while guiding it forward.
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Reviews
“Zapruder’s verse offers solace and an invaluable blueprint for empathy.”―Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“One of our funniest, most technically virtuous poets enters an intimate, new stage of work in his moving fifth collection.”
—John Freeman, LitHub
“Reading “Father’s Day” not only made me feel less alone, it also reminded me how great, in times of confusion, frustration, and shared anxiety, is our human need for tenderness, for forthright yet gentle speech, and for unashamed sweetness.”
—Washington Post
“Zapruder’s poems have a directness and verve that are reminiscent of Frank O’Hara; they’re poems for everyone, everywhere, insisting that everything is subject for poetry, and that all language is poetic language, democratic in its insights and feelings.”
—NPR
“It’s the reach, the attention to daily life and the dream world we simultaneously inhabit, that gives Zapruder’s work its distinctive force.”
—Alta Magazine
“A profoundly heartfelt and thoughtful book for all readers.”
—Library Journal