AMANDA PARADISE

"CAConrad always argues (from the inside of their poems) for a poetry of radical inclusivity while keeping a very queer shoulder to the wheel. Their kind of queerness strikes me as nonpolarizing, not intentionally but because of the fullness of their exposition, a kind of gigantism that seems to me to be most deeply informed by love, and a tenderness for the ravages and tumult of existence."
—Eileen Myles
"It is safe to say that Amanda Paradise will more than likely become a definitive text in terms of how poetry effectively articulated the COVID pandemic as a symptom of a bigger issue: governmental violence that affects not only humans, but animals and the earth itself. And yet it is also noteworthy for the way in which Conrad utilizes their poetic voice as a force for empowerment and strength, as a way to resist and transcend political oppression. This is what truly makes their work special and meaningful."
—Andrea Syzdek, Against the Grain

"This book cements CAConrad as a deeply original voice committed to plumbing humanity's plights in unusual ways."
—Starred review inPublishers Weekly

"In Amanda Paradise, past and future lives collide; entire epochs pass in one line-break; extinct bodies and feelings are resurrected so that CAConrad can reclaim a little more time(lessness)."
—Jay Ying, Poetry Foundation

"But if rooted firmly in the frequency of the immediate world, the poems are equally oriented to the horizon."
—Poets & Writers

"In addition to being the latest addition to CAConrad’s eminently interesting but confounding body of work, it might just be the most interesting-yet-confounding to date."
—Kevin O'Rourke, Michigan Quarterly Review

"Conrad is a great example of a poet whose work invests in the ritual performance of writing — more so, one might say, than investing in the poem as a product itself, if one wants to divide the product from the process."
—Eric Shoemaker, Jacket2

"Despite the strains of grief and loss thread through these poems, the shapes and gestures of Amanda Paradise display a high level of formal inventiveness, play and even joyfulness. Honestly, there is such a sense of joyous celebration and of acknowledging the small moments and gestures...that CAConrad appears to refuse to let go, despite whatever else might occur. And in the end, perhaps this might be the very key to our ongoing emotional health, if not even our continued survival."
—Rob Mclennan, Periodicities: A Journal of Poetry and Poetics

"The beautiful poems in Amanda Paradise are gifts and time capsules, sharp in their capturing of the present and majestic in their ability to offer shards of what else could be possible."
—Britt McGillivray, Minola Review

"Living all time all the time / Not just preparing but living with past, present, future selves / The moments that would bring us to our knees"
—Xan Schwartz, Cleveland Review of Books

At a time when I don’t always know how to make sense of what’s going on, CAConrad serves as a cleareyed seer.
—Jillian Steinhauer, New York Times