Satellite Beach by Susan Lilley

Limited pressrun. Collector’s edition.

These exquisite poems are haunted by a lost dimension, accessible only through the senses. Lilley is a mystic of the exact physical detail, literally a visionary: “I see my old neighborhood in grainy Technicolor,/the turquoise Thunderbird next door,/the parachute swing on the camphor tree.” It’s a charge when you rediscover how swiftly a taut singing line creates time, place, character, fate. And Lilley has her own canvas: an edgy New/Old South, inflated and diminished by the promises of technology. You’ll recognize these landscapes, but you won’t have read about them quite this way elsewhere. SATELLITE BEACH is a collection to cherish.

–D. Nurkse

In these sun-drenched, unapologetically atmospheric stanzas, Susan Lilley comes of age in Florida’s frayed paradise, rooting us squarely in the midst of its contradictions and charm. These are tales of a woman lyrically and personally linked to the rhythms of a region. When that woman moves out into the world–to tackle the challenges of sexuality, love and motherhood–the resulting poems shimmer with an insistent and resolute pulse. This debut is remarkable, and startling in its assurance

–Patricia Smith

Susan Lilley knows the alchemy for transforming joy and grief into consummate poems. From pulsing celebrations of teenaged road trips (possible because “we lied, we lied, we lied”) to moving elegies like “Bees in Mourning” and “Champagne Road,” Satellite Beach is a passionate and deftly crafted look at a life deeply lived.

–Theodore Deppe

Rating: *****  [5 of 5 Stars!]