Project Bookshelf: From the Bookshelves of Kristina Marie Darling

I love my bookshelves even more than I love shopping, junk food, or summer vacation. I realize that some people might find that hard to relate to. But what I enjoy most about my collection of obscure poetry books and out-of-print literary journals is that they remind me of the amazing and creative people I’ve met, places I’ve traveled to, and all of the great readings I’ve been to since moving to Buffalo.

The particular bookshelf I’ve chosen to share with you (because it’s not all that messy and crammed) has copies of my collaboration with Carol Guess, called X Marks the Dress: A Registry, which is now available from Gold Wake Press. There are many books here from friends who are also poets (Kyle McCord and Jeannie Hoag, as well as Melissa Range, Carlo Matos, and Sam Taylor). You’ll also see all the literary magazines that I accumulated from Moby Dickens, an amazing independent bookstore that I frequented this summer while I was in Taos, New Mexico.

Yes, I’m a book hoarder, and I’m not afraid to admit it.

– Kristina Marie Darling

Kristina Marie Darling is the author of fourteen books, which include Melacholia (An Essay) (Ravenna Press, 2012), Petrarchan (BlazeVOX Books, 2013), and a forthcoming hybrid genre collection called Fortress (Sundress Publications, 2014). Her awards include fellowships from Yaddo, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, and the Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers, as well as grants from the Kittredge Fund and the Elizabeth George Foundation. She is currently working toward a Ph.D. in Poetics at S.U.N.Y.-Buffalo.