"Imagine you're at yet another prestigious literary event with the stench of careerism in the air, and the only mercy is a window you're sitting beside. As you look out, an unhurried stranger steps into frame, his lips moving-perhaps he's praying, or singing to himself. His kind, discerning eyes notice a cicada upside-down in the dirt, buzzing like a wrecked toy racecar. He bends down and gently rights it with a twig and a fallen leaf. Witnessing such is what it's like to read Jacob Rubin's
Piggy Bank
. This book actually loves you, and doesn't need you to love it back. But you will." - Greg Brownderville, creator of
Fire Bones
and author of
A Horse with Holes in It
"Jacob Rubin's
feels like milkweed in winter. On my frozen, crystalline walks, I come upon pines bespangled by the silken million eyes of the milkweed. In seeing one tall shining, I see numberless smaller shinings. The effect is vertiginous and minty: like tasting every sweet tooth in a dream. You and I are soon-to-be charter members of the Rubin Poem Fan Club." - Abraham Smith, author of
Insomniac Sentinel
&
Dear Weirdo
In
, his debut collection of poetry, Jacob Rubin casts a private eye on a rich variety of subjects, among them the film
Double Indemnity
, the figure of Scrooge McDuck, and the artwork of Vija Celmins. Rubin's plainspoken and narrative verse, full of odd and funny touches, conjures moods of loneliness, haunted recollection, and whimsy in a voice that is direct and in lines marked by images that linger. Even when addressed to those who can't hear them, these poems
are searing testaments to the longing for connection.