porcelain bird
a poetry collection by matt misikov
Porcelain Bird is a photo-filled poetry book. The collection tells a story of emotional vulnerability that shapes the author's perception of his past and soon-to-slip-away West Coast present. Matt Misikov ruminates on ever-lasting melancholy while yearning for a state of happiness that might just be hiding in a maximalist and obscure image of the future.
''I wrote this poetry collection over the course of a few months -- mostly from Fall 2020 to Winter 2021. There are over 25 poems, both short and long-form pieces, that I intentionally edited very little. The story I had within me wanted to be told, and I wanted to present it as real and raw as possible.
The collection should read almost like a journal entry, a short story that captures a very specific moment in life with its set of feelings.
The majority of the photographs I used in the book were taken in Los Angeles, Reno, New York, and San Francisco.''
-- Matt
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The lake just swallowed the last gold
“I write because it makes me feel true to myself.
But I also write because I have to -- I can’t not write.”
MATT MISIKOV © 2026