Imaginary Vessels contains monologues from past American celebrities such as the 19th Century ex-Mojave “captive” Olive Oatman, bawdy vaudevillian Mae West, the skulls of anonymous mental health patients unearthed in Colorado, and the iconic comedian W.C. Fields. Through formally inventive lyrics and sonnet sequences, Rekdal's bold new collection investigates how public identities and monuments become sites for our emotional re-enactments of history.
A Publishers' Weekly "Most Anticipated Book" of Fall 2016
Finalist for the Washington State Book Award
Finalist for the 2018 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award
Winner of the Utah 15 Bytes Book Award for Poetry
Lannan Literary Selection
MEDIA: Publishers' Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, The Kenyon Review, American Poet, 15 Bytes.