"Ekphrastic poetry ... now includes not just fine arts but also films... [Jordan's] best book." "Rather than writing about films, Jordan remakes them-serving as audience, director, editor, he recasts characters, reshoots scenes, turns the cameras around."
National Public Radio "The poetry elevates the film because every piece denotes feeling." "Brilliant... Every piece denotes feeling-and this is what moves us forward."
Grace Cavalieri "The announcement of the birth of an entirely new poetics. A. Van Jordan brings the art of film and the art of poetry together in a virtuoso act of passion. This work goes beyond memorable speech into an articulation of the spirit, the hunger, the enchantment and terror of a nation and a time. In unforgettably resonant pieces this poetry creates a whole. This is one of our most important poets doing perhaps his own most important work of a lifetime."
Laura Kasischke "For several books now, A. Van Jordan has been proving himself master of the dramatic monologue. His skill is especially dazzling in The Cineaste as he turns to cinema, that other realm of persona and projection. With an imagination illuminated by empathy, Jordan inhabits the eye of the camera, the eye of the actor, and the 'I' of a viewer tethered to image and history. These terrific poems give shape to lives made of light."
Terrance Hayes