The Pit in Bloomington, MN

Set in a small-town, subarctic dive bar, this debut poetry collection explores the complexities of addiction and the person beneath, and the possibility of finding home and community in unexpected places. Among Borin's poems are portraits of the bar's regular customers and employees-recurring characters, like those who might appear in a dark and unconventional sitcom. The religious night janitor catalogues the day's sins; the retired barmaid gussies up at the mirror. In the melancholy atmosphere of the bar and the rooms upstairs, the speakers of Borin's poems find unexpected solace and belonging.