Peter Balakian is the author of eight books of poems, including Ozone Journal, which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, and Ziggurat. His memoir Black Dog of Fate won the PEN/Albrand Award, and The Burning Tigris te yon New York Times bestseller and notable book. In his latest collection, No Sign (University of Chicago Press), Balakian wrestles with national and global cultural and political realities as he addresses challenges for the human species and the impact of mass violence. At the collection’s heart is the title piece, another in Balakian’s series of long-form poems, following “A-Train/Ziggurat/Elegy” and “Ozone Journal,” which appeared in his previous two collections. The dialogue that ensues reveals the evolution of a memory spanning decades, reflecting on the geological history of Earth, the climate crisis, the film Hiroshima mon amour, the Vietnam War, and the enduring power of love. Whether meditating on the sensuality of fruits and vegetables, the COVID-19 pandemic, the trauma and memory of the Armenian genocide, James Baldwin in France, or Arshile Gorky in New York City, Balakian’s layered, elliptical language, wired phrases, and shifting tempos engage both life’s harshness and beauty, and define his inventive and distinctive style.