Kevin Finn’s Exit Wounds

The weather in Kansas City has cooled, enough to warrant jeans and hoodie, enough to make a chapbook read in my backyard hammock something of a strange sight to my already-winterproofing neighbors. But the scene fits when considering the particular chapbook. Kevin Finn’s Exit Wounds oozes a Summer-to-Fall transition, from stunning cover art to chilling content all the way to the dying-tree brown color scheme. Soundtrack the read to The Book of Knots’s Traineater album or Finn’s own “Wilderness” track to complete the experience.

Exit Wounds focuses on the heady nature of what would seem a visceral terrain, rendering moments of earth, wind, and a river that “runs with industry” (pg. 10) as landscapes more attune to the life it supports than the visuals it projects. From “The Meridians:”

What does the black road hold for us?
The curl of grass?

Sometimes a barn sparrow will crush
the seed you put out for it, sometimes
the squirrel, a thief, gorges,
and nothing is left.

Finn beautifully manipulates the barren surround for his language-driven poetry.

I exit, light a cigarette;
smoke traces the wind,
makes it visible.

(from “Prayers for the Dead”)

I am hinged
on forgetting its beginnings,
this electricity
burning through windows,
this visible extinction.

(from “Dinosaur”)

A quick bit of research post-read reveals the evident passion behind Amsterdam Press publications. Peruse their Etsy page for all the handbound beauty.

Review by Caleb J Ross

Visit:
Author: Kevin Finn
Publisher: Amsterdam Press

Purchase:
From the Publisher’s Etsy page