The Committee of Men

by James Ciano

James Ciano’s debut collection, The Committee of Men, explores the cycles of violence men inflict on one another and themselves, examining how silence, shame, and inherited expectations shape masculine identity. Rooted in the speaker’s experience as a college athlete from a family of athletes—including a father who is a high school football coach—these poems confront the emotional weight of tradition and the often-unspoken struggles of male intimacy, mental illness, and familial pressure.

Through sharp lyricism and emotional honesty, Ciano delves into themes of belonging and exile, accountability and forgiveness, and the quiet damage done by historically unexamined masculinity, asking what it means to break these generational cycles without severing connection, and how healing might emerge in places where vulnerability is discouraged or denied. The result is a collection that is both unflinching and deeply humane—an urgent, resonant debut that refuses to look away.

The Committee of Men also includes a foreword by acclaimed poet David St. John, whose introduction situates Ciano’s work within a broader conversation about masculinity and poetic tradition, and underscores the collection’s emotional depth and significance.

Genres: Poetry

99 pages, Paperback

Published April 28, 2026

Reviews

[Ryan Trauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. It's accessible on the surface, but every poems rewards you multiple readings. Ciano manages to write about masculinity without defaulting to unthoughtful cliche's about toxicity, but he also avoids anything remotely resembling bro culture. These poems focus on the subtlety and complexity of encountering male-coded decisions of all sorts throughout the life of this relatively young poet. He's thoughtful, regretful, contrite, loving, warm, and willing to embrace the absurdity of being a man in contemporary culture. (I also want to say that there's just as much absurdity to being a woman in contemporary culture; it's just a different set of absurdities.) This is a book I can see myself returning to a year from now, five years from now, or even twenty years from now. Ciano shows incredible promise as a new voice on the American contemporary literary landscape.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pre-ordered this book on a whim and am so glad I did. This is the best book of poems I've read recently. James Ciano's poems are clear, accessible, and artfully crafted. The ways in which he talks about the cycles of violence and shame that men are socialized into are poignant and heartbreaking, but always tender. We need more books like this one.

[Gail Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems are raw and beautiful, the words carefully chosen to reveal the poet’s tenderness and vulnerability, and by extension, male vulnerability in a world of rigid expectations. Among the many pleasures of these poems, I especially loved their liquid flow, drawing the reader from particular to particular to expose large truths. Not to be missed.

[Trent · Rating 5 out of 5]

sports? masculinity? how did i ever come across this book? not really a poetry kinda guy but this collection is both beautiful and moving. bringing it on my next vacation for a reread when my mind is a bit more at ease.

[Sebastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book of the new year. As close to perfect as poetry gets. Never has masculinity and intimacy been woven together in such illuminating, vulnerable, and original ways.

[Hannah Bagley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and raw, the quiet moments in men’s lives brought into a new light

[Mercedes Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

He ate