Eileen Myles’ Inferno (A Poet’s Novel) is poetry book of the year 2011! Of course, it is a novel—but Myles’ prose is so dense and fun and immediate that it always seems to be saying, “A poet wrote this and I can’t wait to become a poem myself.”

Inferno—a novel with the title of a classic poem. I remind you of this because when you Google “Dante Inferno” the first listing is the digital game: “…battle through the 9 circles of Hell facing fierce and hideous monsters, your own sins, and a dark past of unforgiveable war crimes…” Which sounds like Myles’ Inferno: a coming of age/becoming a poet/coming out/going sober story.

Read the rave review on About.com