“I respect all kinds of poets; I love the ones who are in love with language. But Yusuf Saadi is not only a connoisseur of word-music—he is also a master of striking imagery, and he writes with dynamic curiosity and fully wakened senses. This is a debut to celebrate.”

“‘Poetry is news / that stays beautiful,’ is a claim that Yusuf Saadi asserts and proves in Pluviophile. This collection—which rhymes ‘buttery’ with ‘fuckery’ and ‘windows’ with ‘Calypso’—is a love letter to language. Whether writing a ‘Sonnet by a Forgotten Twix Wrapper’ or a ‘Love Poem for Nusaybah’s Hijab,’ Saadi treats all of his subjects with attention and care, playing deft and unforgettable music wherever he goes. It’s rare to read a debut so masterful in its techniques and assured in its voice. In an age stuffed with filler words, where ‘we Twitter, Tinder, Tumblr through eternity,’ Saadi shows us there is still power and meaning in language. I emerged from reading Pluviophile awake and refreshed.”