Books published by Atmosphere Press

Courage and craft. Hayden Dansky's words are a gift to language itself. They make the unspeakable spoken and practice such care and candor in their work. "I Would Tell You a Secret" is not merely a book of secrets told but rather a lesson in revelation. Dansky's work bridges the gap between truth and language, past and future, candor and care. -Blake MarcelleThis book is no longer about self betrayal or family protection. It's not even about secrets, but instead, the painful process of becoming. This book of poems explores family trauma, addiction, physical transition, deep loss, and craving for social justice in an unjust world. It holds the profound impact of grief on the body, the learning and unlearning of personal truth, and the connection of body and spirit in transition.In "I Would Tell You a Secret" we experience the depths of despair as the author takes us through their personal unraveling, connecting us with our own intimate understanding of grief within. As we bear witness to their transformation, we are faced with our own connection to self and desire to become exactly who we are.

Cul-de-sacs. Parks. Footpaths. Busy roads. Creeks. Car parks. Streetscapes...Where No Home Like a Raft explored wanderlust and faraway places, Streetscapes examines Martin Jon Porter's re-assimilation into suburban Melbourne. And the streetscape GPS isn't what it used to be. Sketched with purposeful minimalism, these poems invite us to consider the bare lines of landscape and social activity that define our world. Streetscapes allows us an access to the lives of others in an illuminating view of the city and the people within.

Something terrible is happening in a small rural town! A very adventurous little boy with a fantastical imagination discovers that the moon is getting smaller by the day and a mysterious thief must be stealing it! It is up to him and his dog, Luna to bring it back.The Moon Thief ignites our children''s imaginations to ponder the wonders of the world in which they live. When a courageous young boy becomes fascinated with the changing moon, he discovers a dark and mystifying land of shadows, dancing and laughter. It is here he is faced with The Moon Thief. At the story''s end you''ll find an educational explanation and diagram on why the moon really changes, along with a fun calendar to track the moon''s phases. When we bring mystery, intrigue and excitement to education today, we nurture the curiosity that creates the discoverers of tomorrow.  The Moon Thief targeting kids ages 6-12, does just that, encouraging them to read, explore and wonder!

Where the Far East meets the Wild West, Falling Into The Light reflects the collision of world cultures during the 19th century.When a young Dalai Lama encounters a deeply hurt soul in his congregation, he begins to doubt his abilities as a spiritual leader, and must travel across the world as a disguised layman to experience human endeavors on the American frontier. Only then could he return home as an enlightened spiritual warrior and the trusted leader of his country''s future.On this transformative journey, the innocence of youth and privilege are shattered soon after the trans-pacific steamship docks in the San Francisco bay. The Dalai Lama ventures from Chinatown to the White House, where he learns, firsthand, the culture clashes of a nation besieged with greed, entitlement, and opportunity. From his encounters with Irish thugs to railroad tycoons and Black slaves to Native Americans, the Dalai Lama is forced to grow up quickly to survive on the American frontier. However, amid all the fear and fighting, the Dalai Lama also finds true love, and is compelled to choose between two futures in two different worlds. Replete with historical settings, strong characters, and a narrative that reflects the natural beauty of the American heartland, Falling Into The Light is a beautiful story for adventurous readers seeking an escape into the past, while exploring the nature of humanity.  

The remarkable Poems for the Asylum was written over several months while poet Daniel J. Lutz was in and out of various mental health facilities while being treated for various illnesses and emotional breakdowns of perhaps some of the toughest moments of his life.Like reading a journal, the poems within this book are contemplations that approach difficult emotional subjects from the loss of romantic love to grief and personal struggle. The poems record the experience of humanness and desperate striving to obtain understanding of one''s self through the difficult stages of healing. From suicidal to endeavoring to succeed, all aspects of the journey are recorded without apprehension.These writings are rich with emotion, thought and intelligence put in language that simplifies distress and honors that pain can be beautiful. Daniel J. Lutz''s stunning Poems for the Asylum is a journey through the mind and heart of a person who is willing to show how far the spirit can stretch and though it may falter, it does not have to break.

Sleep deprived Zombie Mombie, who feeds on caffeine, is ready to greet the day with her supermom juggling skills. However, a sick zombie baby, loads of homework to coach, and endless chores fill her day. Zombie Mombie has little time for herself! Can she survive on cuddles, giggles and sticky kisses, or will the day cascade into utter chaos?Zombie Mombie and her family are a nod to exhausted parents everywhere. Who doesn''t recognize the hysterical mishaps, inevitable trips over abandoned toys, and the exhausted swagger of a parent in the throes of parenthood? Cheers to all the parents who are keeping it together with love, hugs...and zombie stumbles.

Trace Element offers a compelling foray into a speculative future where the solution to the world''s energy needs exists in 2045 London. Join Ethan Cross a quarter-century from now as he unveils the future history of events unfolding today. Has Parliament hidden a monumental breakthrough from the world? Is this feint the true reason for Brexit? Will Cross foil the plans of a British corporate mastermind who will stop at nothing to protect a secret that will forever change humanity? Cross travels Europe to uncover facts about EV3''s ARCELOR while discovering corrupt traces of human nature and the truth about lies. Will science and reason win over the unscrupulous motives of a corporate nation-state? Or will Cross be trapped by the human element of greed and deception? Follow trace elements from Athens, London, Monaco, and through the French Riviera to discover the most remarkable advancement humanity has ever known.

Richard Rose's poetry delights with ravishing imagery, skillful metaphors, unexpected juxtapositions, and twists of language. Yet, through the tercets, quatrains, free verse, and various rhyme schemes emerges smoldering resistance to injustices of society, politics, and humankind. The messages are sharpened by the language that brings them.-Betty Mar Little, Supervisor of Language Arts for Loudoun County Public Schools, 1984-2003Thoreau went to the woods, he said, to live deliberately-to learn what the woods had to teach him so that when he came to die, he would not discover that he had never learned. PushBack is Richard Rose's trip to the dark woods of our time. He has dwelt in those woods to stare at the ghosts of squandered opportunity that make shadows among the trees. In learning, he invites readers to consider the darkness and the shadows and the faint strands of light that are meaning and hope and "the deep integrity of how things are." "Open your heart now," he urges, "push back against the dark." I sit in the woods with him and learn his learning, again and again, more and more deeply, until I am able to push back.-Carol Ann Tomlinson, William Clay Parrish, Jr. Professor Emeritus, University of Virginia, and author of The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners.Don't be fooled by the ordinary titles in the table of contents of his new collection PushBack. Few poets can hear the downbeats in a sentence and turn them into a whole new world of meaning and understanding. In popular culture I'm thinking Seinfeld who made a whole career out of the ordinary and mundane. And in the literary world former poet laureate Billy Collins, who can turn a glass of orange juice into an orchard in the middle of your kitchen. Richard Rose can turn a box of sand into diamond dust!-Nathan M. Richardson; Poet, Author, Frederick Douglass HistorianIn reading Richard Rose's Pushback, one can fully participate both in the universal, shared human experience as well as connect to Richard's very personal experiences and understandings. Through nature, personal relationships, and man's propensity towards war, Richard takes us on a journey through pockets of his existence and our own. Using painted word-images, wit, and humor, he seeks to illuminate both the incomprehensible atrocities of history and man, as well as the power of art to transform our minds and beings with hope into something different - something better - and, perhaps, to reach the deepest longing in every human soul for both peace and understanding. Who's there? (Four Confessions) has an element of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain", and in reading it one feels the poem is speaking directly to us. Collected Words for a Memorial Service contains such profound beauty in connecting the universal, human experience with the deep existential longing of our souls. Richard is a master at the intertwining of the vivid sounds and echoes of nature amidst the brutality of death, war, destruction, and revenge - the never-ending vicious cycle. He poignantly emphasizes the overly-calculated, analytical rationale man uses to defend horrific acts in such a cold and clearly self-justifying manner. The power of the thinking mind to abandon its own soul is aptly stated in the last few phrases on p. 77 (Processionals for Voice):When the wind is done,your wear becomes you. Your care is gone.Your wear becomes you. Your core is gone.May we gain from reading Pushback a constant desire to not lose our cores and to continue to push back where human suffering is concerned.-Karine Marshall, President, Capitol Opera Richmond