Rail

Finalist for the 2018 Balcones Poetry Prize Set against a landscape of rail yards and skate parks, Kai Carlson-Wee’s debut collection captures a spiritual journey of wanderlust, depression, brotherhood, and survival. These poems—a “verse novella” in documentary form—build momentum as they travel across the stark landscapes of the American West: hopping trains through dusty prairie towns, swapping stories with mystics and outlaws, skirting the edges of mountains and ridges, heading ever westward to find meaning in the remnants of a ruined Romantic ideal. Part cowboy poet, part prophet, Carlson-Wee finds beauty in the grit and kinship among strangers along the road. From "Where the Feeling Deserts Us" I pull up the blanket to cover my bare arms. Cool air filled with the pressures of falling dew. This is the best I can give for a reason—the metal accepts you, whoever you are. The train you are riding will only go forward. The straight line is perfectly clear. PRAISE FOR RAIL “Rail i