There aren’t many words that can encapsulate the sensation of Siken poem outside of the poems themselves.

Best known for his debut collection, Crush (2005), Siken tells stories, no doubt, yet what he captures are their vestiges. He suggests an experience, then distils it through the subtle contours of his verse until the tangible experience dissipates, leaving all but viscera, stubborn under the fingernails, dirty and raw. Certainly, Siken doesn’t shy away from grime. He grounds his descriptions in blood, skin, sex—overwhelming at times, but never overbearing. Meticulous in his wordcraft, Siken hits every line like a punch to the gut, eliciting surprising clarity in the afterglow.

But where Crush is the volatile angst of youth, 2015’s War of the Foxes is the mature musings of an artist, daring but no longer recklessly destructive. War of the Foxes is the silence that follows the screaming symphony of Crush, subdued but still vivid with passion.

A Siken poem is a poem you sit with, that turns in your head until the memories and sensations become your own. Be it desire, pain, or rumination, Siken reveals something human in all of us.