Spectral Evidence

Reviews

“When one of America’s foremost poets publishes a collection for the first time in nearly a decade it is a major event—particularly when that poet is uniquely suited to grappling with what’s been going on in America over the past nine years…. As ever Pardlo moves through poetic registers with ease, from high to low and back again, as he witnesses the world in all its terrible beauty. From fallen heroes of professional wrestling (seriously) to this country’s infinite hostility to its Black citizens, Pardlo’s is the poetic eye (and heart) we need right now.” —Jonny Diamond, Literary Hub

"Gregory Pardlo’s exceptional third collection of poems, brilliantly explicates the way the mind is culturally programmed to deal with otherness by projecting racist and sexist fears onto that other. . . . This is the success of Spectral Evidence: Pardlo’s sensitivity, emotional intelligence, and insistence on an embodied (distinctly not spectral) treatment of race and womanhood. It is not just a book about racialized/gendered violence and its inheritance. It is not just about our national identity and the ways it is bound up in that violence. Spectral Evidence is about the self, the way it works, and the ways these histories are inscribed upon it.” —Los Angeles Review of Books

“A deeply moving and thoughtful collection that points at the hurt and heart of human experience." —The Collegio

“Stunning. . . . [Pardlo] is adept at wordplay. . . . Each poem demands to be read on a granular level. . . . Form, lyricism, and imagery are expertly presented, and the result is a compelling, cohesive collection addressing timely topics. A beautiful addition to Pardlo's already impressive oeuvre.” 
—Booklist, *starred review*

“[Spectral Evidence] lays bare the flimsy foundations of America’s justice system. . . . With characteristic intelligence, Pardlo confronts uncomfortable and enduring truths.”
—Publishers Weekly, *starred review*

“Infused with a scholar’s deep knowledge of literature, art, and history. . . . [Spectral Evidence is] complex, linguistically rich, and unsparing in its analysis of both the current national psyche as well as the poet’s own.”
—Library Journal, *starred review* Expand reviews