Norman Finkelstein: Four Episodes

Pascal Wanderlust, the androgynous, gnostic adventurer whose spiritual quest has been the subject of Norman Finkelstein’s recent poetry, returns in these Four Episodes, which continue (and perhaps conclude) this phantasmagoric lyrical saga. Part alchemical romance, part philosophical investigation, part psychic comedy of errors, these surprisingly intimate poems track Pascal at various points in a journey charged with symbolic meaning, Lovecraftian weirdness, and Kafkaesque humor. As Pascal declares, “I have collected / all the memories and called them The Solitudes, / called them The Nostalgias, called them and / called them until I lost my voice…”

Norman Finkelstein is a poet, critic, editor, and Emeritus Professor at Xavier University. His most recent book of poetry is Further Adventures (Dos Madres Press, 2023); his most recent critical work is a volume of selected essays, To Go Into the Words (University of Michigan Press, 2023). He writes and edits the poetry review blog Restless Messengers (www.poetryinreview.com). His website is sites.google.com/site/normanfinkelsteinpoetry/.