This second edition of The Fates of Stars includes many newly added poems and dozens of new ink drawings by artist & musician Matthew Howard. Expanded by more than 30 pages, it features a new introduction, scans of redacted articles which inspired poems, and even a photo of a handwritten poem in progress.
The Fates of Stars expresses love and loss, joy and creation, mourning and celebration. Nature, cities, relationships, virtual worlds, and outer space each take their turn as poetic subjects. The title poem reflects on the human experience as an embodiment of the stars which synthesized all the elements that make up our bodies. Though mostly in free verse, many poems use adaptations of the haiku form for structure and meter.
The ink drawings of the second edition relate to the themes of the poems. Animals, abstractions, nature, portraits, and cats appear rendered in fine point pen. The Fates of Stars is a black and white book.