"In Dora Malech's Trying x Trying we encounter a speaker who brilliantly pinpoints the pulses and currents that undergird public and private spaces and events, the political, the ecological, parenting, and the self. These poems believe deeply in the power of words as spells, prayers, songs, and talismans--and they interrogate the nature of language itself as the nexus of existence, torquing and bending signifiers and sounds until they radiate with insight. There is a danger, a fire, a smolder beneath these poems and their dazzling beauty and music--this is a book of awareness, of light and growth and small gestures--a book of resilience that lets us deep into the speaker's internal life, her contemplative strength and optimism."-- "Erika Meitner, author of Useful Junk"

"Dora Malech's verse is a treat to read, melodious, euphonious, clever, and rife with delicious riddles, often ending in bon mots or wisdom, a breathtaking line or image. . . The paronomasia here and all over trying x trying is astounding, and the cryptic title - trying x trying - likewise highlights Malech's elusive cleverness, her coy, seductive use of words, her dexterity with language. Dora Malech's verse makes you think of an acrobat who makes it look so easy, flying through the air, swinging on the trapeze, gracefully contorting, spinning, landing in a seemingly single effort."-- "Compulsive Reader"