“Marco Simonelli was born in Florence, where he lives to this day; though still in his early forties, he has already published eleven books of verse. His work has figured widely in periodicals, anthologies, and literary festivals; it has been translated into English, French, and German. Some of his titles—Good Manners (2018), Splatter Love Poems (2015), and The Lobster’s Complaint (also 2015)—reveal the mordant wit for which he is known. But this does not preclude a serious vein, poignantly felt in his most recent book, Anxious Litany; a subtle analysis of depression, the work draws on such classic authors as Tasso, Leopardi, and Pascoli.” — Hoyt Rogers