New Poetry from a Master

Over the years, Marbrook has mastered a warmly colloquial voice - the poems feel near and dear as an old friend speaking - delivering the philosophical ruminations of a life rich in experience and wonder. His poems feel as connected as charms on a weighty silver necklace from an older country, passed down from the grandmothers. They shine with honest hope. The last line of this poem could be the anthem of 2020. And they’re also funny. I am used to being old carries no whine or chagrin. It’s just true.

Naomi Shibab Nye, reviewing Lying Like Presidents, New and Selected Poems, New York Times, November 25, 2020.

Djelloul Marbrook’s previous works have won critical acclaim and prestigious prizes, including the 2007 Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize, the 2010 International Book Award in poetry, and the 2008 Literal Latte fiction prize. As a journalist, poet, writer and activist, he has invested his talent and intellect in an artistic voice exemplifying the best qualities of humanity. Through an engaging, well reasoned and powerfully clear voice, he gives flight to a spiritual awakening and casts a haunting light on the canon of American poetry.