In the tradition of Kafka’s Parables and Paradoxes and The Book of Embraces by Eduardo Galeano, this collection of short essays and “alternative versions” is a vivid, perhaps even shocking, reminder that language, self, and reality are based on social consensus, an unspoken agreement to see the world in a particular, limited way. By breaking open these conventions, Colourless Green Ideas reveals the possibilities inherent in the human story. To “sleep furiously” is to dream. Once we know we are dreaming, we begin to consider the possibility of waking up.

Mark Frutkin has published two previous volumes of poetry, Acts of Light and The Alchemy of Clouds. The Governor General's Award nominee has also published six novels, including Slow Lightning, The Lion of Venice, Atmospheres Apollinaire, and Invading Tibet. His newest work is Iron Mountain (Fall 21). His work has appeared in the United States, England, Holland, and India, as well as Canada. He lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

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Frutkin’s tell-it-slant meditations on language, meaning, and life create an argument that is also a dream, an intellectual conversation conducted in poetic diction. More than a collection of aphorisms, this slim book is a manifesto for clear and creative thought.