The Nerve

Glyn Maxwell's poetry collection takes the United States of the twenty-first century as its subject, portraying a country that seems both unfamiliar and strangely recognizable. Its cast includes FBI agents, Genie, a Californian figure known as a wild child, and a man who holds a funeral for himself.

Other pieces follow women who write love letters to men on death row. The settings are just as varied, ranging from college football games and television weather reports to hayrides and hunting tragedies.

Across these works, Maxwell pairs lyric verse with narrative to explore everyday American life and the legends that grow around it.