Ordinary Beast: Poems

ONE OF PUBLISHERS WEEKLY'S TOP 10 POETRY BOOKS OF FALL 2017

NPR'S MOST ANTICIPATED POETRY BOOKS OF 2017

A striking, full-length debut collection from Virgin Islands-born poet Nicole Sealey

The existential magnitude, deep intellect, and playful subversion of St. Thomas-born, Florida-raised poet Nicole Sealey’s work is restless in its empathic, succinct examination and lucid awareness of what it means to be human.

The ranging scope of inquiry undertaken in Ordinary Beast—at times philosophical, emotional, and experiential—is evident in each thrilling twist of image by the poet. In brilliant, often ironic lines that move from meditation to matter of fact in a single beat, Sealey’s voice is always awake to the natural world, to the pain and punishment of existence, to the origins and demises of humanity. Exploring notions of race, sexuality, gender, myth, history, and embodiment with profound understanding, Sealey’s is a poetry that refuses to turn a blind eye or deny. It is a poetry of daunting knowledge. 

A poet of existential magnitude, deep intellect, and playful subversion, St. Thomas–born, Florida-raised Nicole Sealey writes poems that are restless in their empathic, succinct examination and lucid awareness of what it means to be human.

The ranging scope of inquiry undertaken in Ordinary Beast—at times philosophical, emotional, and experiential—is evident in each thrilling twist of image by the poet. In brilliant, often ironic lines that move from meditation to matter of fact in a single beat, Sealey’s voice is always awake to the natural world, to the pain and punishment of existence, to the origins and demises of humanity. Exploring notions of race, sexuality, gender, myth, history, and embodiment with profound understanding, Sealey’s is a poetry that refuses to turn a blind eye or deny. It is a poetry of daunting knowledge.

“In this brilliant debut, clarity is ushered through form, strutting its way into life, into our lives.” - Claudia Rankine

“The sorceress Sealey...serves up an impossible cento that punches the daylight from your chest. Nothing ordinary here. But beast? Yeah, that’s it. This thing has teeth.” - Patricia Smith

“Ordinary Beast is my favorite kind of book, charged with quiet wisdom and exquisite lyric attention. These are the poems of a nimble mind and a generous soul endeavoring together to make sense of the joys and devastations of being alive. Nicole Sealey is a poet for the ages and this is a stunning debut.” - Natasha Trethewey

“A stunning cento, an erasure, and a defense serve, together, as ars poetica for Nicole Sealey’s remarkable debut collection.” - Natasha Trethewey