Young Santa

“Joe Deany-Braun’s new collection, Young Santa, brings together saint and Santa in a way I could never have guessed at before reading this thin, quietly astonishing book...Far from the red-nosed, portly elder tipsy on his own generosity, Young Santa cuts the lean figure of an ascetic mystic, more Jain than djinn, closer to a stoic philosopher than to the stuff of our childhood dreams.” — Dan Beachy-Quick, author of How to Draw a Circle“Whimsical and poignant.” — Jennifer Huang, author of Return Flight“Worthy of Bashō or Dōgen.” — David Mutschlecner, author of Poetic Faith“A saint of poetry.” — Anne Waldman, author of The Iovis Trilogy

Photo by Cori Storb

Joe Deany-Braun is the curator of Perelandra Bookshop and author of Young Santa. His work has appeared in The Denver Post, The Colorado Sun, LitHub, Poets & Writers, and the Biennial of the Americas. He holds a BA in ecosystem science and an MFA in writing & poetics.

Photo by Chad Seidel