Frank X. Gaspar is the author of four collections of poetry, most recently Night of a Thousand Blossoms (Alice James Books) which was one of 12 books honored as the "Best Poetry of 2004" by Library Journal; and a novel, Leaving Pico, which won the Barnes and Noble Discover Award and the California Book Award for First Fiction. His other collections of poetry are: The Holyoke, Mass for the Grace of a Happy Death, and A Field Guide to the Heavens.

His work has been anthologized in Best American Poetry 1996 and 2000, among others. His many honors and awards include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Pushcart Prize, the Brittingham Prize for Poetry, the Edgar Stanley Award and a Readers' Choice Award (both from Prairie Schooner). Born in Provincetown, MA, he now lives in southern California.

Frank X. Gaspar

Oh, it was so dark inside the wolf said
the little girl with the basket after the hunters had killed
that beast who had eaten her, after they had cut him open to
let her out, although you don’t hear that version so often anymore.
Surely this is significant. Who hasn’t lodged in the belly
of something, who hasn’t been devoured?

    from "It Was So Dark Inside the Wolf"

"Gaspar's long, prose-like lines—like translations from dreams—surround the reader with their capaciousness and flowing diction."
—Los Angeles Times Book Review

"[Frank Gaspar] is one of the best poets writing today."
—The Bloomsbury Review

"Gaspar is a genuine talent, a true poet, a real seeker. Trust him; his poems will take you on profound journeys."
—Booklist

Selections from Night of a Thousand Blossoms
(Alice James Books)

I Go Out For a Smoke and Become Mistaken for the Archangel
It Was So Dark Inside the Wolf
Hobbes
My Hood of Stars
The Blue Cigarette and Other Stories
Green