NOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE
Copper Canyon Press
Poetry / 2022
New York Times Notable Book
New York Times Editors' Choice
NPR Books We Love
Dana Levin’s fifth collection walks with the reader through the disorientations of personal and collective transformation. Written between 2016 and 2020, Levin works in a variety of forms, calling on beloveds and ancestors, great thinkers and religions—convened by her own spun-of-light wisdom and intellectual hospitality.
“Through the fog of doubt, Levin summons ferocious intellect and musters hard-won clairvoyance…this terrific book will ground readers in the art of questioning, even as the ground quakes.” —starred review, Publishers Weekly
Banana Palace
Copper Canyon Press
Poetry / 2016
"In a series of loose-limbed and inventive poems that have an sf feel, Levin contemplates forthcoming possibilities, worrying about "You, future person" ...Levin's meditations may sound like heavy-duty philosophizing, but actually they're bouncy, engrossing fun." — Library Journal
"Levin digs into the relationship between mind and body at a time when technologies offer expansive powers, and physical bodies seem more inefficient and absurd than ever... The world may seem broken, but these poems don't convey doom—Levin's clear, grounded language leaves the reader hopeful in the end." — Publishers Weekly
SKY BURIAL
Copper Canyon Press
Poetry / 2011
"Sky Burial brings a wealth of ritual and lore from various strains of Buddhism, as well as Mesoamerican and other spiritual traditions, all explained in ample, helpful notes that distinguish yamas from thangkas, and so on...the intensity and seriousness and openness of her investigations make (Dana) Levin's use of this material utterly her own, and utterly riveting" — The New Yorker
Levin's aching but restrained third collection is an attempt to quite literally come to terms with the deaths of loved ones… To find the terms she needs, Levin hunts in some very far-flung places, including Tibetan and Aztec rituals, Wikipedia, correspondence with close friends, "the symbol book" and the University of Tennessee. These poems are alternately cryptic and crystal clear. — starred review, Publishers Weekly
WEDDING DAY
Copper Canyon Press
Poetry / 2005
"Intimate and hypnotic... whether turning her gaze inward or outward, these poems question the moral, aesthetic, and metaphysic needs that poetry exists to fulfill." — Ploughshares
"Her voice speaks to the private wars of self and the dark violence of reflection. Readers will find that this work carries the pulse of their darkest sorrows, in the breath of their humanity." — Library Journal
IN THE SURGICAL THEATRE
Copper Canyon Press
Poetry / 1999
"Sensuous, compassionate, violent, extravagant: what an amazing debut this is, a book of terrors and marvels." — Louise Glück, Nobel Laureate
"Dana Levin's first poetry collection... is a true stunner, alive and pulsing in the reader's hand... Levin has the skilled ear, magnificent tongue and fierce mind of the truly prophetic." — RainTaxi