A Place Comfortable with Fire
by John Milkereit
"Milkereit explores the powerful tensions between the cynic and the romantic, revealing how these two must learn to co-exist. The cynical voice, insisting that an 'orange soda contains formaldehyde,' lives together with the man in love who marvels that his lover’s shoulders are 'two hushed magnolia petals.' Of note in this collection is the sheer brilliance of Milkereit’s titles. Often alluding to other famous works, his titles are so exquisitely wrought that reading the table of contents becomes a poem in and of itself. Not to be missed, A Place Comfortable with Fire is Milkereit’s strongest work to date. His poems take flight like 'pale green moths' escaping 'a bank vault.' His newest collection is 'a message sent to the galaxy.'”
—Gabrielle Langley, author of Fairy Tale and Azaleas on Fire
Order from any bookstore, local or online. This title is also available from Fleur Fine Books of Galveston, Texas.
About the Author
John Milkereit, originally from Chicago, currently works as a mechanical engineer in Houston, Texas. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Rainier Writing Workshop. His work has appeared in various literary journals including Naugatuck River Review, Panoply, San Pedro River Review, and The Ekphrastic Review. His chapbooks are Home & Away and Paying Admissions (Pudding House Press, 2010). His previous full-length collections of poetry are A Rotating Equipment Is Never Finished (Ink Brush Press, 2015) and Drive the World in a Taxicab (Lamar University Literary Press, 2018).