Voodoo Libretto

In Fast Animal, Tim Seibles has reached a new level of sophistication and emotional depth. His tone has nuances that are so subtly and seamlessly woven together that laughter and sorrow are often present in the same poem. Built like one single sustained song, this book is alive with music, ardor and wit that flow in utterances that are uniquely his and his alone. But in Fast Animal there is also a new urgency and tender wisdom that speak to—and about—“the great storm/ each man each/ woman walks/ as if beneath/ a second sky.”

                                                        

                                         —Laure-Anne Bosselaar, The Hour Between Dog and Wolf and A New Hunger

Fast Animal is a collection of poems that reminds us, with every powerful breath, of our common humanity. Tim Seibles is a poet of extraordinary sensitivity. His images are luminous--almost unbearably vivid—evocations of the world around us, past and present. These are narratives of hard-earned wisdom, exhilarating discovery, sly humor and defiant subversion, from recollections of first loves to the desire to punch a certain former president. Few poets can write about a kiss with such delicate precision, or capture with such immediacy the fear and courage of an African-American man “sitting in a park/ in Virginia holding a white woman’s hand.” Seibles is, above all, a praise-poet. The “Ode to My Hands” is a particularly joyous celebration, reminiscent and worthy of Neruda. May there be odes to Tim Seibles. May there be praise for Tim Seibles. May we all learn from this poet what he didn’t know, and then knew.

 

—Martín Espada