New Review of the sky is black and blue like a battered child + An Annoucement

Brandon Adamson, author of the poetry books SideQuests and Beatnik Fascism, gave a very kind review of my chapbook, the sky is black and blue like a battered child, at Stepkid.com.

"the sky is black and blue like a battered child very much reminds me of 90s zine poetry, both in tone and style. It has a pre-internet quality to it that’s difficult to put into words, but one which someone my age will instantly pick up on. Even though Ben Arzate appears to be about ten years younger than me and firmly within the millennial demographic, this strikes me as a precociously Generation X book. Arzate’s refreshingly not trying to save the world, fight social injustice or do much of anything here. Still, the sky is black and blue like a battered child succeeds in punching above its slim weight.

You can read the full review here.

I've also been sitting on this for a little bit, but I figured I may as well make it known as I've told a few others individually.

My first novel, Story of the Y, will be coming out this year from Thicke and Vaney Books. We're currently working on putting together the final book, but, unfortunately, we don't have a set release date yet. It will be sometime this year, though. I'll keep you all posted.