Third Man Books is pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of THE TRUTH IS WE ARE PERFECT (April 14), the debut full-length collection of poems by Janaka Stucky and TMB’s first single-author title.

"Stucky’s verse has the power of the best East European poets—some of his poems seem to be perfect, magnificent, and instantly anthologizable. He is a forceful, cogent, incisive phrase-maker." –Bill Knott

Janaka Stucky is the publisher of Black Ocean as well as the annual poetry journal, Handsome. He is the author of two chapbooks: Your Name Is The Only Freedom, and The World Will Deny It For You. His poems have appeared in such journals as Denver Quarterly, Fence and North American Review, and his articles have been published by The Huffington Post and The Poetry Foundation. He is a two-time National Haiku Champion and in 2010 he was voted “Boston’s Best Poet” in The Boston Phoenix.

Stucky will go on a 30-city national tour to promote the book, including dates at the AWP Conference in Minneapolis, Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City, and the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago.

Third Man Books has previously published Language Lessons: Volume I, a vinyl record and print box set anthology. Also forthcoming from Third Man Books in 2015 is the book of poems Pain: The Board Game by Sampson Starkweather

"When Third Man Books released our first literary publication Language Lessons: Volume I, the anthology included, naturally, an ex-mortician named Janaka Stucky alongside writers who moonlighted as bartenders, taco chefs, and software developers, or were Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalists such as C.D. Wright, Adrian Matejka, and Dale Ray Phillips, or were punk rock progenitors like Richard Hell and Tav Falco," said Third Man Books editor Chet Weise. "For Third Man Records and Third Man Books, poetry is another genre of music, and that Janaka Stucky is one of our favorite writers should be no surprise."

Below is Janaka Stucky reading his poem the Art of Loss Is A Lost Art recorded live and straight to 7” vinyl via Third Man Record’s Record Booth