SKIRMISH

2010 Minnesota Book Award Finalist

“These mostly short, free verse poems hum with gloomy humor and the mood of pregnant anticipation one finds in a Paul Auster novel. Gibson is no escapist, though, portraying an anxious America in the new millennium.” — Publishers Weekly

“When a reader grabs a book of poems, he should expect not only to be moved but to have a little fun… [Gibson] understands this. In his second book, ‘Skirmish,’ he shakes the reader at every turn.” — Ryan Vine, Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A smart, clever, pyrotechnical book that will hold your attention.” — Sean Singer, The Rumpus

“Like a photo whose power lies in having its focal point not in the middle of the picture but on its periphery, Gibson demonstrates that it’s not about what you’re seeing—it’s about what you’re ignoring.” — Chris Pusateri, Library Journal

“…gives voice to the idea of the intention of memory, a sense of floating that is in tension with the movement and clear friction implied by the book’s title. And then, at the book’s most heartbreaking moments, a rupture ends the silent, wanting speculation.” — Elisabeth Divis, Boston Review

“A powerhouse second effort.” — Kurt Cole Eidsvig, The Southeast Review

“The persona here is wise and brave, with a pure sense of truth and adventure that is rare and never diminishes.” — Ray Gonzalez, The Bloomsbury Review

“What is so refreshing about the poems in SKIRMISH is how the battles both small and large that take place over and over again between the covers are all willing to work with the reader to create a mystery the imagination is built to experience, rather than solve.” — Ben Kopel, Octopus magazine

“[Gibson's] combination of mordant wit and bittersweet longing so recalls the lyrics of my favorite songwriter, Bob Dylan.” — Jay Gabler, Twin Cities Daily Planet

“You finish this book feeling like if you blink you’ll still see a constellation on the inside of your eyelids.” — Weston Cutter, Corduroy Books

“What’s exciting about this book is that it forgoes a simple rehearsal of contemporary ditz and muddle and instead finds true things to say.” — Mike Young, NOÖ Journal

“The finest volume of poetry to come out of Minnesota in the 21st century.” — METRO Magazine

“Iconoclastic yet demotic, funny and profound, Gibson is the prophet in the post-industrial Midwestern wilderness that America needs now.” — Matthew Falk, H_NGM_N