Miscellaneous Debris

You can hear the music in Nick Mansito’s poems. The music comes from his Cuban/Columbian roots as well as the “blood that runs through American-born veins.” That Latino heritage informs and shapes his work as he acknowledges the struggles of the past while recognizing his own journey through the American experience. Reading these poems, you will hear his love and respect for his parents, family, and those who have struggled to make a better life for themselves and their children and grandchildren. There is compassion in these poems and a rich humor, as well as deep felt social and political concerns. Yet to mention this heritage doesn’t do justice to the range and scope of the poems in this collection. Full of a fertile language and startling images, the poems range dramatically through an inner and outer landscape, dealing with the past, present, and future. Generously full of pop cultural references, you can see the poet’s imagination at work, whether he is writing about ninjas or dinosaurs, or taking you on a journey to a forest or the moon, the bedroom or an old photograph. Coupled with that appreciation and love of language is an acknowledgement to other poets who have come before him, both contemporary and those from the past. In a few poems, I could imagine Wallace Stevens sitting on one shoulder and Pablo Neruda on the other, twin muses inspiring this new voice in poetry. Yet the poems here are original, personal, and accessible. I invite you to read and savor all his work. In the end, it is the poetry and the pleasure, pure and simple. ~ Michael Minassian, author of The Arboriculturist Surfing the emotional sea, this latest collection from Nick Mansito tosses the soul from crest to deep. Brilliant! Exciting! A beautiful look into the roller coaster soul of the poet. A perfect blend of heart and spleen, this is Mansito at his best. If this is "debris," then it's time for poetry lovers everywhere to go dumpster-diving! ~ G. R. Maddison, author of RANT