Book launches are always exciting, and I was very happy to be present at 192 Books in Chelsea, NYC last night for the Monk Books debut of Mark Strand's new and beautiful Mystery and Solitude in Topeka. Monk Books was founded in October 2010 by Adam Fitzgerald and Bianca Stone, and this first volume is a tour de force by both the poet and the publishers. Nine prose poems accompanied by four of Strand's original collages are presented with understated elegance – an exquisite combination of pictures and words that has been printed in a limited edition of 200 copies – definitely a future collector's item!
