Dementia, My Darling

Brendan Constantine is the author of the poetry collections Calamity Joe (Red Hen Press, 2012), Birthday Girl with Possum (Write Bloody Publishing, 2011), and Letters To Guns (Red Hen Press, 2009), which is now taught extensively in schools across the nation. His work has inspired artists in a variety of other mediums, from the canvas to the concert hall, and he has received grants and commissions from the Getty Museum, James Irvine Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. A popular performer, he has presented his work to audiences throughout the U.S. and Europe, also appearing on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and KPFK’s “Inspiration House.” In 2014 he headlined at the Dodge Poetry Festival with many of the nation’s most celebrated authors. He currently teaches poetry at the Windward School in Los Angeles, California, and regularly conducts workshops for hospitals, foster homes, and with the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project.

"Constantine’s most ambitious, most courageous, and most fully realized collection yet."—James Cushing, The Los Angeles Review of Books"Dementia, My Darling is a powerful book yet it is written with empathy and respect. It shows us a different way to extract meaning when it is not readily perceived. Like Dante, the poet asks you to accompany him on this exploration of an unfamiliar terrain. Like Dante, a reader passes through this world and receives a different perspective of the landscape we thought we knew. Such is the power of Brendan Constantine's art."—Quill & Parchment