Dark Roads: Selected Long Poems 1971 - 2012

Illustrations by Wayne Miller

Considered one of the leading genre/speculative poets for more than a quarter century, Bruce Boston has received the Bram Stoker Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Asimov’s Readers Award, the Rhysling Award, and the first Grandmaster Award of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Dark Roads collects the best of his long dark poems from more than forty years of publishing. Strikingly illustrated by acclaimed artist M. Wayne Miller, these poems range from direct narratives to surreal explorations of time, memory, obsession and transformation. Includes two Rhysling Winners and three Rhysling Finalists.

Advance Praise for Dark Roads

“Contains dark poems so intense they cut into flesh and bone with a diamond blade. Meant to be savored and felt. Boston is a dark master.”  – Gary William Crawford, Bram Stoker Award Nominee, author of Voices from the Dark

“… a bracing and graceful alloy of intelligence, velocity, and feeling. Once again, Boston shows that theme and superbly crafted language have no barriers when fueled by the ambitious imagination of a powerful and essential poet.” – Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., author of The Orphan Palace

“Every line is a surprise as the tale twists and turns, the imagery is rich and fresh, the language lush. You won't find another poet who combines such storytelling skills with such depth of feeling.” – David Lunde, Rhysling and PEN Translation Award winner, author of Breaking the Willow

“Bruce Boston is a major American poet most of whose work has appeared in the genre fields. Dark Roads, a selection of his longer poems spanning the length of his career, proves that the power of his poetry is matchless in any field. His style embodies an alchemical synthesis of vivid imagery and sure-footed musical measures, a supple medium that he applies inventively to a range of narrative moods and configurations, from the philosophical to the darkly humorous. Dark Roads provides the best view yet of Boston's singular poetic genius.”  – Andrew Joron, Rhysling and Gertrude Stein Award winner, author of Trance Archive

From Reviews of Dark Roads

“Selected from Boston’s dazzling canon of exquisitely crafted speculative poems, Dark Roads collects a group of longer poems over a period of forty years in this stunning volume opulently illustrated by celebrated artist M. Wayne Miller. A dark sorcery of language ensnares the reader in fully realized wordscapes…. One can almost feel the psyche tilt and bend toward the printed page while reading these 31 extraordinary poems. It is a very dark ride, indeed.” –J. L. Comeau, Creature Feature Reviews

“Dark Roads is a collection of poems spanning Bruce Boston’s long and illustrious writing career. They have been gathered in one volume and give readers an amazing peak into the depth and power of Boston’s writing…. His work is fierce, ferocious, haunting, poignant, and emotive. Hope, despair, anger, and fear are there…. It’s what dark poetry is meant to be.” –Drake Morgan, Monster Librarian

“Of course Bruce Boston is brilliant. One cannot read his poems and fail to understand this…Boston’s imagery is strong and complicated. His stories stretch the imagination and challenge your reading skills. Note that I said stories. Boston’s ‘poetry’ is a collision of the lyrical, the poetic, poetic prose and storytelling…. I wonder if poetry is the right definition for Boston’s work. Maybe we need to coin a new term… Poetic story? Lyrical Storytelling? Why not? I think that to call what Bruce Boston creates for us ‘poetry’ or even ‘speculative poetry’ is to misunderstand the work…” –Clayton Bye, The Deepening

Limited to 13 deluxe hardcover copies housed in a slipcase with extra poetry and art not found in the paperback edition