Fear of God Essentials - by Benjamin Krusling (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A collection of poems that reflect on the nature of self-expression and respond to the current political moment.

Deploying the namesake diffusion fashion line Fear of God Essentials in the title, these poems think through the second skins of names, clothes, brands, and images circulating around our murder and torture planet. Fear of God Essentials is about radiation: nuclear compression, pollution, and the struggle to think clearly and creatively in a violent, oppressive time in which the public intellect is being siphoned and paywalled. Krusling explores this expensive and empty moment that's not without substance and feeling. In these lyric, vatic, quick and personal poems, one can hear the heart of a damaged public beating.

Review Quotes

"Glaring is a beautiful and powerful, brilliant collection, combining energies of various modernisms with elegant maneuverings through the bleak media of contemporary America. . . . Every line in this indelible book was my favorite."--Lucy Ives

"It is alarming to find what you are looking for, which is what I have found in the work of Ben Krusling. . . . The power of Ben's work is so undeniable, it's confusing to think about its singularity, which is a hint that it is from the future."--Simone White, in praise of Glaring

About the Author

Benjamin Krusling is a writer and artist in Brooklyn, NY. He is the author of Glaring and numerous poetry chapbooks. Recent sound and video work has been performed and/or screened at Anthology Film Archives, SculptureCenter, Storefront for Art and Architecture, and other venues.