Marcus Elman's debut chapbook, Because the World is Spinning,
from MacQ is now available.
Update from the collection: The poem “Chaleur (Warmth)” has been nominated for the Best Spiritual Literature 2025.
Because the World Is Spinning was nominated for the 2025 Eric Hoffer Book Award for poetry by a first-time author.
Order Here
“Kindle my bones as we share marrow.
Tinder my fingers and toes;
warm yourself in some gloom
that shivers your very core.
If you set me on fire,
I offer, as joy might laughter,
as being might glow and sway.”
"Totally relatable and universally beautiful." — Nancy Wilson, guitarist, singer, and songwriter
Painting by Michel Costiou 2023, cover design by Clare MacQueen
“Everything / has a shadow side—even the soul might have / a
dark night,” the poet says in “Night From Day” [page 12]. Marcus
Elman turns a spotlight on the human condition in all its messy
glory. These poems are gems, faceted, brilliant. They catch the
light, and dance.
—Alexis Rhone Fancher, author of Triggered and Brazen
"One might expect a dancer/yoga instructor who has travelled the
world in order to understand other cultures and points of view, to
be interested in what gives our lives meaning and how to confront
the pain and terrors that we encounter—and Marcus Elman does
not disappoint. His debut chapbook, Because the World Is
Spinning, explores ways that the world tries to crush people, and
sometimes succeeds. But this collection is ultimately uplifting as
it also demonstrates how people find courage and strength, and
Elman celebrates those qualities that give people an extra
measure of dignity."
—John Brantingham, author of 21 books of poetry, memoir,
and fiction, and founding editor of The Journal of Radical Wonder