In his third book of poems, Mark Halliday grapples with the endless
struggle between self-concern and awareness of the rights of others.
Through humor, ironic twists, and refreshing candor, these poems
confront a variety of situations--death, divorce, artistic egotism and
envy, personal relationships--where the very idea of self is under
siege.
If Selfwolf were a pop music CD, it would be hailed as Mark Halliday's
breakthrough album. . . . This third collection of poems teems with
unsparing confessions of misdirected lust, lost faith, regret and a
winningly goofy cheerfulness in the face of all that bad stuff. . . .
The informal, conversational quality of Halliday's work almost hides its
artfulness, which seems to be precisely his intention.--Ken Tucker, New
York Times Book Review
With unflinching, often comic honesty about how 'ego-fetid, hostile,
grasping' we are, Halliday exposes the self's wolfish hungers and
weaknesses.--Andrew Epstein, Boston Review
Mark Halliday's new book offers more of his trademark riffs on
self-consciousness. His subversive, surprising, hugely enjoyable poems
will make you laugh out loud, squirm in uncomfortable recognition, and
appreciate anew the comedy of our daily battles for self-preservation. .
. reading Halliday is pure delight. . . . I love the daring and
intelligence with which Halliday skates along the shifting boundary
between self within and world outside. Selfwolf slows down our
habitual negotiations between 'in here' and 'out there, ' exposing the
edgy comedy of how we survive.--Damaris Moore, Express Books
