Did the dream of speed begin with the birth of the car? Or was that the dream of escape–of hopping in the car and going, leaving your life and responsibilities behind? And is this desire for speed and escape a particularly American thing? Bruce Springsteen has said that the Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” is every song he has ever written, about which poet Ryan Eckes notes, “It’s not a song about overthrowing capitalism but of escaping it.”
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In General Motors (Split Lip Press), his third collection of poetry, Eckes offers another vision for America–a glimpse at how different things could be if people were to recognize their collective power and reclaim public spaces. General Motors is a timely, alive, and necessary collection.  

Read the full review at Fanzine.

On Tuesday, March 13th I am reading at the Writers & Words series in Baltimore alongside Joyce Lombardi, Jamesha Caldwell, and Karen Bennett. The reading starts at 7pm at Charmington's (2601 Howard St.).

In advance of the reading, I answered a few questions. I might have said I hope to be a couch in the next life. You can read the interview here.