Finalist in the 2024 American Legacy Book Awards
In Blameforest, Jason Stocks captures the rhythms of a vibrant vernacular that is original and authentic. He builds a distinctive world that often turns violent and lovelorn, his rendering clear-eyed and voiced like a blade -- and does so while displaying the expansive range of a skilled craftsman. Far more than a sequence of individual poems, Blameforest is a layered and nuanced work of innovative literature to be read in one sitting, and then over and over again.
-- Jacob M. Appel, author of The Cynic in Extremis
Fierce, bold, and self aware, Stocks's debut poetry collection is steeped in the Gothic hauntings of Deep South life, like "Wasps, with their legs crossed [that] hover in the uppermost angles of gables like ghosts with terrible news they can't wait to deliver".
-- Jenifer DeBellis, author of Blood Sisters and editor of Pink Panther Magazine
Jason Stocks is a father, husband, teacher, and writer living in south Florida. He grew up listening to rock and hip hop and much of his work references his favorite groups. His work also mirrors the hard-knock life he's accustomed to, broaching topics like domestic violence, poverty, and demasculinization. When not completely alienated and writing, he teaches English in West Palm Beach. Blameforest, his first book, was recently named a finalist for the 2024 American Legacy Book Awards. His second book, Laughing is Forever, will be released in May. Find him on YouTube at Sunnyvale Reject.