Book of the Given

In this rigorously crafted collection, Rusty Morrison observes the fraught and alluring givens of eroticism, the authority of the script we think we are following and the demands of generosity where "expectation must be abandoned." The script, in this case, is by George Bataille. His passages, fractured and dispersed, are assembled into a text that speaks to us as a lover, not a philosopher, might, that intimately and that audaciously, with all the punning, sparring, avowals and reversals we expect from erotic charge.   Rusty Morrison has been the co-founder, co-publisher of Omnidawn since 2001. Her five books include After Urgency (won Tupelo's Dorset Prize), the true keeps calm biding its story (won Ahsahta's Sawtooth Prize, James Laughlin Award, N.California Book Award, & DiCastagnola Award from PSA), and most recently: Beyond the Chainlink (Ahsahta; finalist for the NCIB Award & NCB Award). Her new book, Risk, will be published by Black Ocean on Spring 2024. She was awarded