Douglas Kearney writes, "If my writing makes a mess of things, it's not to flee understanding, but to map (mis-)understanding as a verb." The map's guide is MESS AND MESS AND, in which Kearney defines the terms that member his poetics, taking even prefixes as a call for semantic inquiry. Within are essays that explore "the Negrotesque," gloss specific poems and poetry collections, the inspirations (from life, literature, and otherwise) he drew...