ASHBERY SIGHTING: WITNESS IN THE CONVEX MIRROR

Tinfish Press is about to put out a new collection from poet Eileen R. Tabios that riffs on Ashbery’s Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror.

from the Napa Valley Register’s April 22, 2019 “Aunt Helena” column:

It’s been awhile since I got word of a new volume by the ever-creative St. Helena poet Eileen R. Tabios. That changed when an advance copy of “Witness in the Convex Mirror,” published by Tinfish Press, found its way into my inbox. Poetry buffs will be intrigued to know that each poem in the book begins with a line or two from John Ashbery’s celebrated collection “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror.” It comes with glowing praise from poet Timothy Yu, who said Tabios “cracks open Ashbery’s convex mirror to reveal a secret history of our times. Her virtuoso riffs on Ashbery’s masterwork are no mere exercise, but open up into unexpected vistas.” The book will be released on May 1. Look for it at Main Street Books – if Liza Russ doesn’t have it in stock I’m sure she could order it for you in two shakes of a lamb's tail.