Available via SIU Press and Amazon.
“Tory Adkisson’s poems are fervent, vulnerable. He illuminates the ‘wilderness of flesh’ that divides and connects us. I found myself leaning closer to his lyricism, his courage, his inventiveness. The Flesh Between Us is a powerful debut, rich with language that startles, lingers.”—Eduardo C. Corral, author of Guillotine
“Adkisson’s stunning debut examines relationships in all their forms—familial, romantic, literary, mythic, and erotic. As the title The Flesh Between Us so powerfully suggests, Adkisson looks at connection and its limitations, studying the difference between intimacy and attachment through the touchstone of flesh. These deeply sensual poems rove through an evolving pantheon of gods ‘thriving on quiet moments of violence’ that seem natural and tender despite their darkness. Adkisson lets readers revel in the sumptuous pleasures of his lines but recognizes each of these intimacies comes with an inevitable departure that is, yes, cruel, but also sweet. These losses are like this book: unforgettable.”—Traci Brimhall, author of Rookery and Come the Slumberless to the Land of Nod
“Adkisson is a classical poet with a hard style. He can be both funny and dark. I admire his emotionalism when writing about love, lost love and the dangers of loving. His poems mix autobiography with myth as he tries to make sense of the chaos around him. His poems have backbone, and I admire this, too.”—Henri Cole, author of Blizzard and Orphic Paris
“In finely tuned portraits, aubades and anecdotes, Adkisson precisely examines queer love and the body, allowing the human enterprise its adjacency to a wilder world—animal, vegetal and sexual. He assembles, in essence, a poetry bestiary, where all of our senses are heightened, alert to both danger and ecstasy. Reading The Flesh Between Us, I couldn’t help but think of tide pools teeming with life, entire redolent worlds in which the intimacy and industry of living and dying are experienced in a brief bright moment of awe.”—Kathy Fagan, author of Sycamore