The Gate Out of Paradise

Victoria Redel’s new poetry collection, Paradise (Four Way Books, 2022), lives up to its title: There is a gorgeous abundance of everything in this book, a truly impressive breadth of all that is human, ranging from eros to grief, from Baruch Spinoza to the Cossacks, diaspora to menopause, and so much more. Some of Redel’s poems peak with intensity and catch you by surprise, others burn slowly, and yet all of them feel accessible and quotable.