This is poetry that goes for the jugular. Allen’s poetry is marked by its potent, dynamic syntax, and also by his storyteller’s sensibility. Skillfully crafted in their shifting perspectives, there is a great verve and sense of surprise in his lines. He has a fantastic ability to swoop into vivid detail while keeping the poem sweeping onwards. This is tough, sometimes brutal poetry, but still singing, a rich and rough music, just right for our times. —Alan Gillis, poet & editor of the Edinburgh Review