James Ciano’s Book Notes music playlist for his poetry collection The Committee of Men

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book. Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Roxane Gay, and many others. James Ciano’s debut poetry collection The Committee of Men exquisitely explores themes of toxic masculinity and masculine identity. Edward Hirsch wrote of the book: “In this haunted and haunting book of initiations, James Ciano takes on a past and a subject matter seldom encountered in poetry—the harsh, glaring, unpoetical world of grueling masculinity. With John Keats and James Wright as two of his guides, he uses the transformative power of poetry to confront and transfigure his longstanding demons. This deeply humane collection left me shaking, shocked, and enthralled.” In his own words, here is James Ciano’s Book Notes music playlist for his debut poetry collection The Committee of…