Martian

Winner of the 2021 Academy of American Poets James Laughlin Award

A 2022 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist in Poetry

A blistering exploration of America’s legacy of anti-Black violence from an indispensable poet of our time

American history got you down? Are you feeling alienated? Join poet James Cagney in his blistering second collection, Martian: The Saint of Loneliness, as he journeys through time, space, and memory with caustic, satirical beauty. Recall American history through its spent shell casings! Turn familial ghosts into art valuable for generations! In these fully charged poems, James Cagney storms through American fields blooming with artillery and anger on his thirsty quest for love, peace, and acceptance in the smallest, most precious gestures.