The Committee of Men

by James Ciano, David St. John (Foreword)

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, Hardcover

Published April 28, 2026

Reviews

[Ben Bush]

Some real East Hollywood / Los Feliz icons in here: the "I love you. God bless you." lady who you used to see walking up and down Vermont and Hillhurst and the beautiful Public Storage tower. The exploration of Long Island jock culture in poetry felt fresh. The poems dealing with a family member's mental illness resonated after having seen a few friends travel down that road.

[Ryan Trauman]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[Mercedes Rodriguez]

He ate

[Maya]

I requested for my library to stock this when it was published, and they did!! But now I need to buy it, because it was really incredible. I'll come back to add some quotes once I have my own copy.

Lately I've found myself reading a lot about male struggles and I often am unable to empathize with them. I can empathize with men who have problems in general, but I have a hard time when the author is specifically trying to discuss a more male-specific problem. I have too much exposure to men on the internet whining, and too much exposure to real women in my life that have suffered because of men.

This collection of poems is about the experience of growing up as a man, in a male-centered family. The poems go much deeper than "men have so much pressure on them" or "men aren't allowed to express their emotions like women" (have we really never connected the dots between women being "free to express their emotions" and women being labeled as hysterical, emotional, dramatic, sensitive...? Women are attacked for expressing their emotions just as much as men are, we just do it despite the ridicule), and I was able to relate to much of it, and understand what I couldn't relate to.

I need to reread before I can write more, but this is absolutely my favorite poetry.