Poetry by Raymond McDaniel
April 1, 2008 • 6 x 9 • 130 pages • 978-1-56689-213-1
A multivoiced saga of devastation and rebirth in the Caribbean and Gulf Coast.
Conceived in the years before Hurricane Katrina and deeply influenced by its aftermath, Saltwater Empire is a brilliant assemblage of geographical metaphor expressed in original lyrics, text from The Tempest, and the voices of ravaged New Orleans residents. As McDaniel’s poems enter the ecological, political, and religious miasma of the Gulf Coast, they offer an uncommonly perceptive look at cataclysmic disaster, human cruelty, and cultural resilience.
About the Author
Raymond McDaniel is the author of the National Poetry Series award-winning collection Murder (a violet). His writing appears in many magazines and in the anthology American Poets in the 21st Century. A Floridian, McDaniel now lives in Ann Arbor, teaches at the University of Michigan, hosts the reading series at Shaman Drum Bookshop, and writes for the Constant Critic.