Grief is Hiding in this Music is the selected poetry of Dalt Wonk. The unassuming, direct, and enjoyable poems in this collection reflect Dalt Wonk’s life in the French Quarter, where he has lived for over 40 years.
The collection begins with a section entitled “Exile,” which includes poems inspired by New Orleans and Paris (where Wonk also lived for a decade). Another section entitled “Nocturnes” features poems originally printed alongside the photo-engravings of renowned photographer Josephine Sacabo. And as lagniappe (the New Orleans word meaning “something extra”), the final section features a new translation of the late, great Vicente Huidobro’s surrealist love poem Altazor, Canto II.
“Thank goodness for Dalt Wonk and his watchful eye. His collection of poems suggests an interior life full of meaning and wonderment and desire. He points us all to the poetry within.” — Gwen Thompkins (Journalist and Host of public radio’s Music Inside Out)