Two Countries at War, by Daniel Slaten

Poetry, chapbook, 20 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

The past constantly rewrites itself with every subsequent retelling. Over time, unintentional fictions blend with the fragments of memory to create versions of reality that aren’t quite accurate. These stories, told and retold, mixed and remixed, become a part of our personal mythology.

The poems contained in Two Countries at War explore heartbreak, shattered illusions, and moments of self-doubt. The oftentimes unreliable narrators of these tales come face to face with the cracks and fissures in their internal narratives and chart a path forward as they come face to face with the internal and external conflicts that shape their lives.

Daniel Slaten once witnessed two people fall in love on an airplane flight across the country. He writes poetry and short stories on sticky notes and in small notebooks. A lifetime ago he studied literature and creative writing at the University of Alabama.