A Cannibal Explains Himself to Himself – Will Alexander
A Cannibal Explains Himself to Himself by Will Alexander / 87-page paperback / 81 / Published by The Elephants press.
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Literary Nonfiction / African & African American Studies / Art / California Interest. Will Alexander’s A CANNIBAL EXPLAINS HIMSELF TO HIMSELF is a collection of essays on topics ranging from Los Angeles, collaborative art, cosmic interventions, psychic fragmentation via ego, and the folly of Aryanism from one of America’s foremost avant-garde writers. A CANNIBAL erupts and disrupts trains of thought exploring various contours of the human psyche like a phosphorescent snake, burning from the first Egyptians’ rage to the ailment of its modern expression. Alexander’s tenor glows with the energy of self-remembering; as we consume thoughts and air and bread, invisible energy also consumes us.
Born in 1948, Will Alexander is a poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, visual artist and pianist. He was the recipient of a Whiting Fellowship for Poetry in 2001 and a California Arts Council Fellowship in 2002. He was also the subject of a colloquium published in the prestigious African American cultural journal Callaloo in 1999. His most recent work includes THE COMBUSTION CYCLE (Roof Books, 2021), A CANNIBAL EXPLAINS HIMSELF TO HIMSELF (The Elephants, 2019), and AT NIGHT ON THE SUN (Chax Press, 2017). He is the poet-in-residence at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Foundation in Venice California. He currently lives in Los Angeles.