THE GREATEST OUTDOORS (A LOOP) by Lorraine Lupo
A long poem by Lorraine Lupo.
Cover illustration by Max Jacobson. Cover design by Lorraine Lupo. Edition of 100 copies, laser-printed, mimeo-bound. Twenty-six copies lettered and signed by the author. September, 2020. 1st printing.
The Greatest Outdoors is a big space, the title now more ironic for our being physically/socially shut in by outside forces (not to mention our assault on the natural world). It’s good to see Lorraine Lupo in it for the long haul, with this commodious new work, lassoing a rich range of material, rapidly shifting registers from transcendent to abject:
You can adore someone so much that their handwriting seems alive
and ordinary sidewalks
with their particular markings keep changing
Damp pizza slice draped on a bush
Although its subtitle (A Loop) suggested starting in the middle and circling around (like the old days of movie going), I went cover to cover. Now it's easy to drop in again on any stretch for a while, climb aboard for the ride, meeting my highest standard: pleasure to read.
— Alan Bernheimer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lorraine Lupo is the author of By Way Of (Green Zone) and Dust Exchange (Slacks Books), a collaboration with the artist and architect Max Jacobson. Her work has appeared in The New England Review, Fourteen Hills, Across the Margin and Art Practical, among others. She edits the Periodic Postcard series. She is an active member of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and poet-in-residence at the Creative Growth Arts Center.