Though the crux of the book stems from the discussion of love and the horror that can come with it, Siken, more than anything, writes about the mundane in a way that seems significant. Surrounded by motifs of hands, cars, and violent, bloodied displays of passion, Crush paints depictions of love and violence side by side to portray the panic that often comes with the surrender to vulnerability. Siken writes about heartbreak and regret, second chances and dreams, and relationships both dangerous and loving alike.

On the surface, Crush is a book about love in a world where the love you experience can hurt you, and you don’t know if it will consume you or save you in the end.

His poetry books typically revolve around his experiences as a gay man, but Crush in particular is known for its heart-wrenching exploration of human emotion, love, and its overarching tone of fear. Crush won the 2004 Yale Younger Poets award and, within a year, became a cult classic among poets and poetry fans alike. Siken is an American poet and the author of Crush (2004) and War of the Foxes (2015). Richard Siken's poetry is daring in its construction, graceful yet startling in its beauty, and complicit with emotions and states of mind that would have remained unintelligible without him.Richard Siken’s poetry collection Crush is not one you can start and finish in the same sitting, and I mean that as the highest compliment. at once confessional, gay, savage, and charged with a violent eroticism.'-Forecast Finalist for the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry Winner of the 2005 Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry, sponsored by The Publishing Triangle 'Crush is a wondrous, brilliant book. Recommended for all collections.'-Library Journal 'Vital, immediate, and cinematic in scope, verse offers sharply observed vignettes of longing, love, and pain.'-Library Journal (Best Poetry of 2005) 'A powerful collection of poems. This book will excite patrons and be long remembered. 'Siken writes about love, desire, violence, and eroticism with a cinematic brilliance and urgency that makes this one of the best books of contemporary poetry.'-Victoria Chang, Huffington Post 'Vital, immediate, and cinematic in scope, verse offers sharply observed vignettes of longing, love, and pain.'-Library Journal (Best Poetry of 2005) 'Siken's debut collection derives its energy from the friction among bodies, selves, and lovers.

Crush richard siken book