Guernica Editions

Dane Swan is a wordsmith social scientist. His poems are a cross-section of humanity: Black, immigrant, working-class poor. His words are nostalgic one instant and futuristic in the next. The complexity of his poetry is quiet, never grandiose. While his work often resides in a moody and antiseptic urban context, it simultaneously exudes a sensibility that is fertile with hopefulness. His collection defies expectations and asserts the author as a discerning critical voice on the plight and redemption of our generation.

Dane Swan's poetry happens. He writes what he knows and with such a sweet intimacy, one might feel as if they are borrowing his eyes, his past, and his perceptions. His readers are spoken to as friends, his subjects so close they are almost in the room. His joy, his sorrow, his dreams and his relentless honesty make these poems feel like confidences. His poetry is open, accessible, tangible and a joy to read. He creates spaces almost anyone could walk into, could relate to, could recognize as a shared experience. This unique gift shapes his poetry into seemingly effortless brilliance.

The human comedy of the supermarket line. Vignettes of family life. Things you do when alone in your apartment. And yet, the poet is able to transform these experiences into scenes of beauty and chaos that are anything but ordinary. While forwarded by the need to find justice, and break apart the capitalist stranglehold of our culture, Dane's poems -- executed with much grace -- are ones we connect to, as we embark on a journey to the full awareness of the "miracles [that happen] by opening our eyes". Dane is "the guy learning new languages", and telling us like it is. His poems are ones that must be read and heard as they traverse the borders of page and stage.