Zero Gravity
Eric Gamalinda
“These are the words of someone who understands that language holds much more than words; within the syllables, consonants and vowels, there are counties, islands, loved ones, histories of loss and recovery . . . Gamalinda’s poetry is lyrical, at times even mystical, yet somehow, it is never sentimental or nostalgic — the downfall of well-traveled poets. Rather, his is the voice of one who, in his writing, had dared to approach zero gravity, and is not afraid to fly.”
—Pacific Reader
"'Like the earth on its silver axis,' Eric Gamalinda's poems spin into a 'light
that is our consolation,' and are all the more moving for their startling recognition that
'the jacaranda in bloom is changing the landscape of Los Angeles.' These are wonderful,
luminous poems."
—Arthur Sze
"I had the opportunity to read with Eric Gamalinda in 1997. His poems
immediately interested me. Zero Gravity is a wonderful book of
poems. The poems possess a vulnerability and an openness. They lean importantly into their
subject without becoming self-important. Eric Gamalinda's attention and spirit are
vibrant."
—Michael Burkard
about the author
Eric Gamalinda was born in Manila where he worked as an editor and journalist, and where
he published three novels, a collection of stories, and a collection of poems. He is a
recipient of a fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and his work has
appeared in a diverse range of publications including Harper's Magazine, Frank,
and Hootenanny, as well as in several anthologies, among them In
My Life: Encounters with the Beatles, Returning to a Borrowed
Tongue, Brown River, White Ocean and Flippin':
Filipinos on America, which he co-edited. His latest novel, My
Sad Republic, was recently awarded the Philippine Centennial Prize for
Fiction. He lives in New York City.
Author photo by Archie Reyes
