"Italian dining, as any foodie knows, is a sacred art-one designed to bring the diner to a place of utmost satisfaction and well-being. Laid out like an extravagant ten-course feast, Alysa Levi-D'Ancona's An Absurd Palate pairs poetry and story in mouthwatering combinations menu of beauty, humor and grace. And, like all great meals, you're left bursting with joy and hungry for more."

-David McGlynn, author of One Day You'll Thank Me

"Alysa Levi-D'Ancona's An Absurd Palate is about your pleasure, readers. Pleasure in the materiality of language, pleasure in daydreams, pleasure in narrative, and she takes pleasure in creating an offering for us. It's radical because this book is about pleasure without guilt or any other silly judgments-it's about fullness and abundance, and that's a damn good gift. Thank you."

-Steven Dunn, author of water & power

"An Absurd Palate presents the reader with a rich and rigorous menu that is by turns intoxicating and decadent, tracing a course from aperitivo to digestivo that promises to fill us to bursting. Levi D'Ancona invites us to ruminate on language itself, training our taste buds to savor both 'carmine chicharones' and 'jellied sand.' These poems and stories nourish the reader's appetite for strangeness-taste and see."

-Amaranth Borsuk, author of The Book