Gotham Gray by Theodore Cornwell

Many of the poems in Cornwell’s Gotham Gray build with rich and vivid images, tumbling similes and metaphors, that make for rich and satisfying reading. The poetry collection evokes both the “liquid landscape of dreams” and specific pictures of the world of Manhattan, be it its individual neighborhoods, the journey down Pacific Street to Coney Island, or simply the “city’s lusty breath.” Even when taking the reader to other destinations such as New Orleans, the poetic roads are landmarked by milestones of desire, an ever present affirmation of life, even when unrequited. This poet truly takes joy in the beauty of words, the pleasure that keen word crafting brings to author and reader both.

–Michael Kiesow Moore, author of What to Pray For (Nodin Press)

Theodore Cornwell‘s Gotham Gray offers the reader a wonderful curio cabinet, one put together by a certain urban gay sensibility of the past several decades.  The collection of poems, both formal and informal, bring the reader, gay or straight, into the kind of voyeuristic intimacy a city like New York offers up, whether one wants it or not: “Two sleek and agile men, as poised and bold/as a pair of deer in a park, parade themselves/in easy view of my bedroom window.”  A larger, say Whitmanesque, intimacy with the city is also sung: “The damp buzz of underground cars/warmed him, and then Manhattan/unfurled its platinum wings.”  These poems, often playful and punning, engage us with a mind that is at once incisive and intuitive, and a heart that is always generous.

–Greg Hewett, author of Blindsight