<DIV>A man disappears. The woman who loves him is left scarred and haunted. In her fierce, one-of-a-kind debut, Rebecca Lindenberg tells the story?in verse?of her passionate relationship with Craig Arnold, a much-respected poet who disappeared in 2009 while hiking a volcano in Japan. Lindenberg's billowing, I-contain-multitudes style lays bare the poet's sadnesses, joys, and longings in poems that are lyric and narrative, at once plainspoken and musically elaborate.<BR><BR>Regarding her role in Arnold's story, Lindenberg writes with clear-eyed humility and endearing dignity: ?The girl with the ink-stained teeth / knows she's famous / in a tiny, tragic way. / She's not / daft, after all.” And then later, playfully, of her travels in Italy with the poet, her lover: ?The carabinieri / wanted to know if there were bears / in our part of America. Yes, we said, / many bears. Man-eating bears? Yes, of course, / many man-eating bears.” Every poem in this collection bursts with humor, pathos, verve?and an utterly unique, soulful voice.<BR><BR>This widely anticipated debut, already selected as a finalist for several prominent book awards, marks the first collection in the newly minted McSweeney's Poetry Series. MPS is an imprint which seeks to publish a broad range of excellent new poetry collections in exquisitely designed hardcovers?poetry that's useful and meaningful to anyone in any walk of life.</DIV>