Description: An investigation, performed through storytelling, of the constructed beliefs of society and individuals
In this his eighth collection of poetry (and fifth with Four Way Books), Prufer's career-spanning talent for estranging the familiar--and also for recording the unthinkable with eerie directness--recurs, enhanced and transformed by the collection's meta-level attention to the role of fiction in our civic lives. Prufer describes, often through personae, a near future, tracing there the political gambit of Fake News and the role of the imagination in our self-understanding (whether it's cogent or delusional). Via both satire and direct address (to the point of reader-squeamishness), Prufer aims to understand the ugly-casual atmosphere of our often racialized, pervasive distrust. The Art of Fiction fundamentally understands that fictions are deployed to divide us, and they work: they get under our skin. Prufer powerfully explores the roles of imagination and art in how we explain ourselves to ourselves.Review Quotes: "Poet's Prize finalist Kevin Prufer...imparts an understanding of how we deploy narratives, particularly in the political arena, whose fake-news stratagems can be deftly undone by the pure passion of verse...." - Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal--Barbara Hoffert "Library Journal" (2/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)