Before Reading in Slovenia

“Seth Michelson’s House in a Hurricane weaves, out of despair, loneliness, the ordinary and sometimes the ugly, things of beauty, joy and worth. I ran the gamut of emotions as I read this book – in one sitting, by the way. It’s a written work of art, and isn’t that what art does? Makes us feel? To paraphrase a line from one of Seth’s poems, I fell a million ways in love with this book.”

~ Lucy Spinetti, Boston Literary Magazine

“Seth Michelson’s poems, one after another, wrangle the brutal and broken world into something that sings. This is hard work, and good work.”
~ Ross Gay, Against Which

“House in a Hurricane is exactly that: a safe haven of poems beautifully guided by Seth Michelson – but be prepared for dangerous weather. This is ‘leaping poetry,’ a collection which is perfectly irreligious and spiritual, written by a poet who is so craft-wise and well-read one might not notice the rising of the wily winds.”
~ Kate Knapp Johnson, Wind Somewhere, and Shade, The Perfect Life: Poems, and When Orchids Were Flowers

“Seth Michelson is a young poet of great gifts and energies, passions. Intense, language-drunk, drunk on the sounds of language, in love with the possibilities of language while not neglectful of its responsibilities. His poems strike me as more alive than many poets (young or old!), more necessary. In 30 years, most of this edition will be tattered and faded, but I also predict, it will be known as his brilliant debut. Come to my gravesite to tell me I was right!”
~ Thomas Lux, God Particles, The Cradle Place, New and Selected Poems: 1975-1995.

Click Here to Read the Introduction by Tom Lombardo, Poetry Editor of Press 53.

Next Word, Better Word: The Craft of Writing Poetry

Heartbeat and hymn, prayer and curse, Seth Michelson’s vigorous, spellbinding verse tackles the unbearable and that what must not be told. From the torture dens of Buenos Aires to the hospital beds of L.A. County, these “Eyes like Broken Windows” summon us to bear witness until we decipher the truth that hides at the center of this visionary collection: “yes, we exist / where we’re erased.”
Alicia Partnoy
The Little School: Tales of Disappearance and Survival

“These poems–courageous, world-aware, joyful, terrifying–by Seth Michelson, a young poet who has learned his trade, move me very much. They make me feel like shooting off a cannon, make me feel like grabbing strangers by the lapels, saying: Read these poems, read these poems, he wrote them for you!”
Thomas Lux
God Particles: Poems

“Seth is interested in pain and beauty. The cusp moments of life bend for him into moments of grace, “So that’s your Bach; those fine moments / of primeval release.” He loves those moments of breaking and typically brings the reader into them.”
Kate Gale
Managing Editor
Red Hen Press