Dalin Appel is creative, intelligent and fearless, just like the times. His poetry frankly takes on romance, politics, mental illness, substance abuse and the tangles of the modern family with beautifully raw honesty and the unapologetic ease of a writer who has come of age in the, at times terrifyingly progressive, new American way. His poetry captures moments, retains the personal, even the intimate, while still offering a darkly fascinating snapshot of contemporary life in the heartland of our country.