on Downfall of the Straight Line

“Charles O. Hartman’s singular grasp of musical possibilities is what makes his new collection of poems, Downfall of the Straight Line, such a thrilling read. Hartman has a gift for charting ‘the niceties of geometry,’ wherever they may be found — in the sky, on the water, in the beloved’s gestures. He writes, ‘here are keys but to what kingdom.’ The answers ring out from every page of this astonishing book.”

Christopher Merrill