front cover of Chapel of Inadvertent Joy
Chapel of Inadvertent Joy
Jeffrey McDaniel
University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013

“Reading Jeffrey McDaniel’s gorgeously dark and utterly compelling Chapel of Inadvertent Joy reminds me that he is probably the most important poet in America. The book in your hands was written by a master of metaphor and a poet of huge imagination and fierce ingenuity, a fine antidote to realism. Get this voice in your head.”

—Major Jackson

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front cover of The Endarkenment
The Endarkenment
Jeffrey McDaniel
University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008

"Known for his commanding stage presence as a reader, McDaniel trades hard in his fourth book on his rough-and-tumble persona--a recovering addict from the working class streets--while also showing softer sides. McDaniel's sometimes awkward, if earnest searching might just be what allows him to find moments of great beauty, humor and stillness." --Publishers Weekly

“McDaniel is known for his talent performing his poems, however his voice doesn’t lose its impact in written form. It may be more powerful because the reader can view the poet’s unique ideas and phrases over and over until their various meanings sink in.” —Gently Read Literature

"McDaniel zings metaphors across the page like he's the Robin Williams of poetry. This collection in frequently moving and inventive with enough lightheartedness and whimsy to balance the heaviness of the darker moments." --hipbooksterclub.com

Jeffrey McDaniel is the author of Alibi School, The Forgiveness Parade, and The Splinter Factory. His work has appeared in a number of anthologies, including Best American Poetry 1994, The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, and New (American) Poets. He has won several awards, including an NEA Fellowship. He teaches creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College.

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front cover of Holiday in the Islands of Grief
Holiday in the Islands of Grief
Poems
Jeffrey McDaniel
University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020
In his new collection, Jeffrey McDaniel confronts the insular and expansive qualities of loss. With electric language and surrealistic imagery, McDaniel’s poems deliver the quotidian elements of middle-age life while weaving us in & out of childhood and adulthood alongside body and mind. The tragic and life affirming share the same page and the same world, reminding us how close corruption can be to innocence; domesticity to fantasy; aging to youth. 
 
Jonathan
We are underwater off the coast of Belize.
The water is lit up even though its dark
as if there are illuminated seashells
scattered on the ocean floor.
We’re not wearing oxygen tanks,
yet staying underwater for long stretches.
We are looking for the body of the boy
we lost. Each year he grows a little older.
Last December I opened his knapsack
and stuck in a plastic box of carrots.
Even though we’re underwater, we hear
a song playing over a policeman’s radio.
He comes to the shoreline to park
and eat midnight sandwiches, his headlights
fanning out across the harbor.
And I hold you close, apple of my closed eye,
red dance of my opened fist. 
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