A shocking, unnerving narrative, at its heart a love story, Leap-seconds is built of recombinant fragments from a profusion of sources. But also at its core is the question "How does one represent violence in language?" If violence does not derive from a place of soundness, then its product should be utterly confusing, ultimately paralyzing. The collection chronicles a bewilderment with institutionalized violence and the anxiety felt by a systemic desensitizationtowards it. So the rhythms are aggressively arranged, excessive, the single-mindedness of its repetitions an assault. It's mannerist patterns seek to enliven our senses, bring us to our senses, render us sensitive. A varied and polytonic manuscript, approaching unsettling content with nerve and empathy, Leap-seconds is a compelling treatise on violence and a stark encounter with the apparatus by which it is so often normalized.

Paul Zits' first book, Massacre Street (UAP 2013), was shortlisted for the Robert Kroetsch Award and the IndieFab Award for Poetry and went on to win the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry at the 2014 Alberta Literary Awards. He served two terms as Writer-in-the-Schools at Queen Elizabeth High School in Calgary, and taught creative writing to students in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. He is a regular instructor with the Writers' Guild of Alberta's WordsWorth Camp at Kamp Kiwanis, an instructor with the Edmonton Poetry Festival's Verse Project, and the Managing Editor of filling Station.

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