The Nerve: Poems

A haunting and powerful collection, The Nerve captures the strangeness and splendor of America in the twenty-first century. Glyn Maxwell's characters include FBI agents, the Californian "wild child" Genie, a man who holds his own funeral, and women writing love letters to men on Death Row. From college football games to television weather reports, from hayrides to hunting tragedies, Maxwell's brilliant lyrics and narratives explore American life and legend.

"This new collection applies Maxwell's fluent gifts to his recent years in America . . . the especially accomplished final poem offers a set of deft off-rhymes . . ." Publishers Weekly

"Maxwell is an intelligent and sensitive writer, and THE NERVE is one of the most enjoyable books of the year." --David Orr The New York Times Book Review

An intelligent, sensitive writer, moving confidently toward expressions of common feeling.