The Second O of Sorrow

“A blue-collar, Rust Belt romantic to his generous, enthusiastic core, Dougherty has filled eight prior volumes with character sketches, pool hall odes (he now works in a pool hall), vaunting declarations, outcries, celebrations, protests, and promises, ‘in the rusting cities in the rusting places where we leaned against the wall, in the smoky haze of bar smoke and breath.’” —Publisher’s Weekly
“Sean Thomas Dougherty’s poems vibrate with ‘red and blue braids of light’, in a voice that resonates and transports. Arresting, precise imagery from a poet of grand and memorable vision, this is the gypsy punk heart of American poetry.” —Dorianne Laux
“Sean Thomas Dougherty's poems are singing knives that cut your heart so that it beats again!” —Phil Metres
“Every poem Sean Thomas Dougherty writes is holy, a psalm for the damned.” —Sheryl St. Germain