A RUTHLESS ACCOUNT OF DEATH IN AMERICA

"Constructed from evidence extracted from a database of unsolved human remains cases, the poems in Conor Hultman's DOE stare back and dare you to look away. Disturbing, sad, haunting, and addictive, they evoke the sickening nostalgia of shows like Unsolved Mysteries and Dateline blasting from childhood living rooms. Part archival séance, part cartography of evil, this collection is an indispensable work of art, for lovers of dark, ambitious literature and true crime fanatics alike."

— Logan Berry

“Many write to immortalize their own self after death. Here, Conor Hultman affords grace and generosity to the nameless that likely never had the peace to wonder about life beyond death in anonymity. The bodies are so close to the surface you can feel the air turn decades later. A eulogy of American life.”

— Gwen Hilton

“Warning. Conor Hultman’s debut book DOE is as brutal and grisly as the world we live in. The poems repurpose the DoeNetwork’s catalogue of unidentified and missing persons. The minimal presentation of the poems doesn’t hide the hard gruesome facts of murder and death but, in fact, forces us to confront these horrors as both reality and analogy: work trousers / brown pattern leather belt w/ a yellow metal buckle / white fruit of the loom underwear / green & blue career club big man long sleeve shirt. In the tradition of Reznikoff’s Testimony and Marie Buck’s Unsolved Mysteries, DOE reminds that the darkest corners of our present realities can be researched, reshaped, and reimagined through many perspectives;  DOE reminds us that no one has the exclusive authority for retelling.”

— Robert Fitterman

“With DOE, Conor Hultman has crafted a beautiful cenotaph honoring the anonymously dead. A singular, powerful document.”

— James Nulick

“Conor Hultman looks at humanity with the loving eyes of God, and he's not even religious.”

— Manuel Marrero