On Mark Conway

My recommending Mark Conway to the Emerging Writer's issue is a bit of a farce, mostly because Mr. Conway was recommended to me first—by virtually everyone who has ever read his poetry. I first encountered Mr. Conway at the M.F.A. program at Bennington College, when rumor of his talent was whispered by an enthusiastic chorus to anyone who would listen. And we were all listening. Being a reflexive contrarian, I naturally doubted that anyone could be that talented, so I set upon my own investigation. And I discovered that for once the masses had it right: Mark Conway's poetry has real power. The images smolder, the moments resonate long after the page has been turned, the sometimes beautiful, sometimes devastating phrasing haunts the psyche. More than imagery, nicely rendered moments and wordsmithing, however, is Mr. Conway's innate ability to mine emotional depths, surfacing with that which shatters us, letting it dance in our eyes and our hearts until we are overcome, awash in pathos, grateful.

But let the Recommender's carnival bark be rightly forgotten: experience Mark Conway's poetry firsthand, be sucked in, get overtaken, marvel at who you were before.

—Jaime Clarke, author of the novel We're So Famous, and founding editor of the literary magazine Post Road.