{"product_id":"noctuary-by-c-rees","title":"NOCTUARY by C. Rees","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this haunting debut, C. Rees immerses us in a landscape of personal and collective loss, where grief is not a process with beginning and end, but a churning ecology we inhabit. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eNOCTUARY\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ebears witness to its rivers, trees, and lichens, as well as the contamination and exploitation of a rural county where gods “bleed settler dreams into the water-\/shed” and “headstones grow like parasitoid wasps,” never looking away from our own complicity in “history’s cruel regard.” In the violence of these necropastoral nocturnes, the ruin wrought upon this land and the peoples who, living or dead, continue to inhabit it is unburied, as present as “foxes bruised with exhaust.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThrough a divinatory poetics, wielding formal trickery, bounding echoes, and polyvocality, these poems unsettle inherited puritanical reasoning, favoring only what can be seen with the nightside eye. A queer necromancy,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003epoems as invocations calling back the dead\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e in a voice that is not the “I” of everyday life, but one that is dispersed, refusing a singularity of self. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003en the oracular spaces conjured by Rees’s thrilling “ecto-poetics,” a family’s communal grief teems.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Just as you stop considering loss, the losing presses its remainder,” Rees writes, and the poems drown in a flood of memory, mishearings, and shards of family stories. Where memory and story fail, these poems make\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eritual of attention, attuning to the charged drift of what moves between lifetimes, transforming occlusions into generative sites of inquiry and encounter. Not in a search for what is factual, but what is fractured, burgeoning and shared, where “time [binds] us like onion grass.” This book invites us to risk a brush with what is possible, to lower into its lyrical floodplain of lamentation, where we may \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ebe bound in a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecomplex keening that, like foxgloves, grows from scattered ash.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e* Signed pre-orders will ship by September 15th, 2025 *\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe oracle as poet has never been more welcome! I was hooked from the opening poem of this extraordinary book by C. Rees. It is all set, waiting for you, “ever the devotee, our house prostrates in the dirt \/ as dawn falls upon us like a forgotten sentence.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— \u003cstrong\u003eCAConrad\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eListen to the Golden Boomerang Return\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA noctuary is an account of the night. In their collective elegy of this name, C. Rees recounts for us a span of time haunted by an autumnal violence on the verge of winter: the violence of hunting season, of sudden death by water and fire, of cruelties exercised in person, of recurring losses across generations. Yet within this dystopian exurban landscape, as dark as any from George Crabbe or David Lynch in their own time, the natural world persists. And so does “the glory of boys” who with their fierce energy “[race] the graveyard on their bikes.”    \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e     — \u003cstrong\u003eSusan Stewart\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBramble\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eC. Rees’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNOCTUARY\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a book of the night, and it is the rare first book that poem after poem finds the speaker perennially enmeshed in a “we.” Here is an exploration of self that cannot escape family, place, or history, the misbegotten origins that identify and entrap us. And yet, the “I” that struggles to emerge out of the “we” is not unlike the reader of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNOCTUARY\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, seeking light and connection and, thus, inevitably, arriving at metamorphosis. While all may be grief, all becomes possible in this book. Rees is an utterly original poet, who has somehow fused mid-Atlantic Gothic with Greek tragedy to write of our collective and environmental sicknesses with emotional precision and unexpected compassion. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— \u003cstrong\u003eJennifer Chang\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn Authentic Life \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-4c6ea0b7-7fff-fb5c-f997-bb488b641432\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eC. Rees \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e(they\/them) is a nonbinary poet, educator, and bookseller. They were raised in Pennsylvania (Lënapehòkink) and currently live on Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Jumanos, Lipan Apache, Sana, and Tonkawa land, what is now Austin, TX. C. holds an MFA in Poetry from the New Writers Project. They are ideologically and materially committed to a free Palestine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e✦ Select Online Publications ✦\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e✦ \u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eApocalypse Confidential: CLOAK \u0026amp; DAGGER\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none white-space-prewrap\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg white-space-prewrap font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/apocalypse-confidential.com\/2025\/12\/21\/on-fortuno-ombra\/\" draggable=\"false\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eON FORTUNO OMBRA\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e✦ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003ePoetry Society of America, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003eCecil Hemley Memorial Award, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg white-space-prewrap font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/poetrysociety.org\/award-winners\/poetry-society-of-america-awards-2024\/cecil-hemley-memorial-award\" draggable=\"false\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCrossing\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e✦ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTerritory\u003c\/em\u003e, Issue 13, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg white-space-prewrap font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/themapisnot.com\/issue-13-c-samuel-rees\" draggable=\"false\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eexcerpts from “Bomb Pulse”\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e✦ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBellingham Review\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg white-space-prewrap font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/bhreview.org\/articles\/pansy\/\" draggable=\"false\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePansy\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e✦ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eFrontier Poetry\u003c\/em\u003e: OPEN Finalist. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg white-space-prewrap font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.frontierpoetry.com\/2020\/03\/25\/2019-frontier-open-finalists\/#Rees\" draggable=\"false\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eun-animal\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e✦ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eAction Books Blog, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg white-space-prewrap font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/actionbooks.org\/2022\/01\/m-u-t-a-t-i-o-n-s-from-bomb-pulse-by-c-samuel-rees\/\" draggable=\"false\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-underline text-strikethrough-none\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFour M U T A T I O N S\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-dbb236b5-7fff-540f-fdf2-68ca1e3ecfea\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e110 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eISBN 979-8-9905483-8-1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLCCN 2026938508 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDistributor Product Page\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Host Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53984528367934,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0025\/1029\/0991\/files\/NOCTUARY-FinalFrontCover.png?v=1785274685","url":"https:\/\/hostpublications.com\/products\/noctuary-by-c-rees","provider":"Host Publications","version":"1.0","type":"link"}