The Sleeping Gulf

by George Guida

Poetry. Italian American Studies. "Imagine Jonathan Swift with an Italian American sensibility—that's George Guida, a true original with the capacity to be hilarious, surreal and rueful, sometimes all at once. Whether he's traveling abroad or in Florida ('panhandle with mermaids... pray to the immigrants' pink grapefruit god'), casting his eye on suburban life or satirizing the food-and-gangster obsessions of fellow Italian Americans, no detail escapes his penetrating gaze. In 'The Sleeping Gulf,' you'll find humor's brooding underside and glints of light even in life's 'savage wood.'"—Maria Terrone, Author of EYE TO EYE

108 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2015

Reviews

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a handful of truly terrific poems in this book (the villanelle "I Pagliacci," for one) but also a number of poems that feel like we've seen them before from Guida--he's on familiar ground both subject-wise and craft-wise. Although even then, the work's funny yet wise, self effacing and current.