In the Architecture of Bone is the spirit of Armenia streaming through the mnemonic of Semerdjian’s family and their abode. This “evidence” exists by means of its words inscribed on a blank beatific hide. And this hide co-respirates as a biography of exile while lingering in the cells of language. Scenic registrations, interior postings via a vivid singularity. Semerdjian condenses the “undertow” and the droning of the Armenian Diaspora through a stark imaginal thriving. In the Architecture of Bone is a book brimming with marvelous seepage and recollection.—Will Alexander
Alan Semerdjian's In the Architecture of Bone reads like a long poem cycle that pulls the reader into an open field in which Semerdjian weaves his explorations of language and art, Armenian history and family. These dynamic poems mingle the ghosts of the past with the pace of contemporary life. This talented, young poet is well worth your reading.—Peter Balakian
The poems shuttle between the tender and the fantastic…at the core of the poetry is a kind of politic—though he isn’t what I would easily call a political poet. Adrienne Rich wrote, “the moment a feeling enters the body is political…” Alan is that kind of political poet.—Michael Klein
The poems in this collection are full of lyric’s quiet, overheard voice. They are explorations of relationships and the personal. But [Semerdjian’s] work also constantly points to how lyric has more to tell us about empire and cross-cultural contact than is often realized. He aligns his lyric with the tradition’s more innovative moments. And he frequently turns the personal of lyric inside out.—Juliana Spahr