Description: Andrew Collard's lyrical poems about Detroit show how the social and geographical past influences the present. Written from the perspective of a single parent raising a child amid increasing social isolation, economic insecurity, public catastrophes, and anxiety, Sprawl reminds us of the comforting endurance of communal experience.
Review Quotes: "Andrew Collard's Sprawl refuses to shy away from the darkness yet is unafraid to acknowledge the strange beauties which whisper from the depths of fissures and the distances beyond peripheries. Collard captures complexities of contemporary life as the verse maintains its dichotomies, does not water down hardships nor loss. We explore a desperate sort of sadness, such as 'what it means that I am from here // but can't afford a home here.' Yet the work rejects didacticism, instead painting palpable landscapes, places in which we can immerse ourselves for contemplation. These poems zoom into and out from intimate moments, showcasing nuances of public and private topographies. This collection is a superb demonstration of the role of the modern writer as witness to their times."--Heather Lang-Cassera, author of Gathering Broken Light, winner of the NYC Big Book Award in Poetry, Social/Political