Nocturnes, by John Vurro

Poetry, chapbook, 32 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Nocturnes was written in response to the poet’s parents dying within five weeks of each other. The poems examine mental illness, addiction, violence, and the emotional residue of both what is remembered and what we wish we could forget. At its core, Nocturnes seeks to understand grief as narrative, metaphor and the relationship between content and form. Rather than offering explanation or closure, Nocturnes examines the lived consequences of illness and addiction—as well as examining the complexities of being a parent.  

The collection takes its name, Nocturnes, because—like musical composition—its themes recur, recede, while still circling around the same motifs, in varying tonal spaces. The poetic form of these poems allows space for interpretation and gives the reader an opportunity to reflect on their own emotional landscape.

John Vurro’s novel Play, Rewind was published April of 2025 from Tortoise Books. It was shortlisted for the Masters Review Novel Excerpt Contest, and was also a finalist in Craft’s First Chapter Contest. His story, “Turnkey,” was chosen for Carve’s One to Watch feature in their 2015 summer issue. His story, “Carmine’s War,” won Harpur Palate’s 2013 John Gardner Award. His fiction has been published in The Literary Review, Eclipse, Glint, and elsewhere. His essay “Guardians” was published in The Sun and nominated for a Pushcart Prize as well as being included as a Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2025. He lives in New Jersey.