Late Night Talk Show Fantasy and Other Poems

Jennifer Dotson's poems-as-monologues range from subjects broadly cultural to intimately personal-say, Demeter, Jack and the Beanstalk, and the poet's trials with driving lessons. Delivered with self-effacing wit and deft comedic timing, the "talk" readers encounter here arrives casually if paradoxically within an array of traditional poetic forms. What's notable is how transparent such forms appear, each the apposite vessel for a poem's chitchat.

Kevin Stein, Illinois Poet Laureate 2003-2017

With a "guest list" that includes the Bionic Woman, Dionysus (in crisis) and a teenaged Jesus, Late Night Talk Show Fantasy is a fun, funny, and insightful collection perfect for curling up with in bed. Dotson's poems are often surprising and always accessible, inviting the reader not just as an observer, but as an engaged participant. In essence, it's a pleasure to join in as this "world-famous poet/drinks the champagne/and rides the bubbles."

Jan Bottiglieri, author of Everything Seems Significant: the Blade Runner Poems and Alloy

In Late Night Talk Show Fantasy & Other Poems, poet Jennifer Dotson creatively and humorously reweaves myths, fairy tales, lives of minor celebrities and advertising taglines; gets personal with family secrets and driving lesson foibles; and plays skillfully with rhymes and forms such as the villanelle, Luc Bat and pantoum. In poem after poem, from prepping for the apocalypse to wearing basic black, Dotson takes us along on a fantastic romp through her wide range of poetic talents.

Cynthia Gallaher, author of Epicurean Ecstasy: More Poems About Food, Drink, Herbs & Spices, and Frugal Poets' Guide to Life: How to Live a Poetic Life, Even If You Aren't a Poet