The Secret Adventures of Order: Critical & Personal Essays
by Vincent Czyz

What do the aesthetics of poetry have to do with an Ikea store, ancient ruins, a boxer’s style? Is there a hidden order that surfaces in strange ways—the route we take through a city, Jungian synchronicity, seashell patterns? If Lucifer isn’t Satan, then who was he? Citing the likes of JL Borges, DF Wallace, Paul Valery, William Gass, John Ruskin, and RM Rilke, Vincent Czyz explores these and other questions in a far-ranging and lyrically observed collection. His critical commentary is complemented by several deeply personal essays, including a reckoning with his violence-marred childhood; a search for psychological healing that culminates in an all-night ayahuasca ceremony; and a long-distance friendship with an erudite bookie who dwells in a Kansas basement. Carrying as much intellectual heft as emotional freight, Czyz's writing invites readers to indulge their hearts and minds in equal measure.

“Vincent Czyz takes on some giants, including plot, Ikea, Ben Lerner, and A.S. Byatt. In the end, however, he’s less a fighter than a shrewd observer—even an enthusiastic and loyal fan. He champions and celebrates John Berger, Guy Davenport, William Gass, Marilynne Robinson, mom-and-pop businesses, and collage. Even his difficult father and Lucifer get treated fairly. He’s a terrific writer, and no matter where he stands, or where you stand, you will want to hear what he has to say.”

—James Goodman author of Stories of Scottsboro, a Pulitzer Prize finalist

“I love this book. Czyz covers so much terrain; every sentence seems to contain its own universe. So many universes, and they all get along. And the undergirding, the intellectual and emotional depth, the lifetime of learning and experience, make it indestructible. It simply cannot not work. Czyz proves, beginning with his opening essay that poetry and prose not only can co-exist, but that they MUST. The book goes on to prove this in every way. All is exactly as it needs to be in The Secret Adventures of Order—and then some.”

—Rob Cook, author of Last Window in the Punk Hotel

“Vincent Czyz, an acclaimed fiction writer, utilizes his ample critical toolkit to reveal the secret heart of books and authors he admires (and some with whom he takes issue), while also demonstrating his skills as an essayist and secular theologian. Even when I disagree with him I salute his acumen, his focus, and his deep engagement.”

—John Keene, MacArthur fellow and author of Counternarratives

Read excerpts from The Secret Adventures of Order