A Queen of No Ordinary Realms

In his first book, Naveed Alam has managed a dangerously strange journey into the dream lives of the condemned, the oppressed, the prodigal, and the lost. With remarkable clarity he shows us the father whose tears flood the street, the prostitute for whom every customer is Jesus, the angels of desolation who tear off their own wings. In its exotic violence and beauty, its surreal narrative and unwavering honesty, this collection brings something new to our poetry: a clear view of dispossession coupled with the terrors and wonders of the inner life.