In his debut collection, RIDDLES, ETC., Geoffrey Hilsabeck proves himself adept at paradox, a poet who reaches toward the largeness of the cosmos in order to bring its essence closer to us. Approaching his subjects with the difficult task of describing their spirit without naming it directly, this collection is also a love letter—"Dear citizen stargazer"—to the known and unknown. A singular imagination is at work here, writing toward the unique and peculiar qualities of things and beings, displaying the relative similarities of all phenomena.
Geoffrey Hilsabeck (MAPH '06) is a poet and nonfiction writer. His work has appeared in 6x6, Seneca Review, Lit Hub, The Chronicle Of Higher Education, and elsewhere. In 2012, The Song Cave published Vaudeville, a chapbook. He teaches at West Virginia University.