Plato's Bad Horse

Deborah Woodard's first full-length collection, Plato's Bad Horse, is a wild ride through kaleidoscopic landscapes. You'll catch glimpses of scenery that may at first appear familiar, but all guise of sameness drops away with turns of unique phrases akin to spectral oils. The reader traverses miles and centuries, from Bellocq's New Orleans to the Mediterranean to the intersection of Jesus and Garden City, Long Island. The poet's efficiency with intricate details gives the reader a glimpse into private realms, treasures never before seen by outsiders. The personal takes on mythic proportion here, with operatic delivery. This book is something new, completely original, and like the bad horse of the title, "takes the bit shamelessly", leading us on a journey that "pulls toward the radiant face of the beloved."