In John Whalen’s quintessentially tempestuous Caliban, the main character is an outcast and a slave to his passions. If Shakespeare had Miranda, Whalen’s Caliban has Melanie in his dream world, the working-class and suburban settings that enthrall him.

The wonder of this debut book of poems is that its fractured narratives and cris de coeur reconstruct a “brilliant television orchard” of images. Although Whalen revels in disjunction, his vision is starkly focused. Caliban bristles with “pissed bees,” station wagons—no it glitters, multifaceted, diamond clear! Pick it up, feel its glacial heat; meet John Whalen!