***Selected by final judge Diane Seuss for the 2026 Idaho Prize for Poetry.***
Bashō and Blockbuster. Rilke and RPGs. Romeo and Juliet and the 23,000 Netflix categories. The images of Strange and Constant whirl through the post-industrial landscapes of the American Great Lakes, where rivers, parking lots, and abandoned factories meet the relentless noise of contemporary culture. Sonnets, rhyme, and long collaged sequences hold this abundance in tension, finding startling moments of clarity within the oversaturated language of digital life. Against this abundance, Strange and Constant offers humor, grief, and genuine tenderness. At a time when attention is both fractured and fiercely in demand, Strange and Constant offers it in full. Its voice is loud enough to rise above the noise, and soft enough to cut through.