John Bradley's book of spells begins not as a series of incantations, but of encryptions and admonitions: don't touch this, watch out for that. Try not to fall victim to podcasts from the asteroid belt. Don't be deceived by the voices of dream animals or the wail of mechanical sirens. Take care, "because a spell can't be tricked, rubbed, / licked, robbed, kissed, caged, swallowed" without considerable risk. There is an otherworldly music to this uncanny collection. Poems filled with bits of bone, chemicals, threats, and parts of speech give way to spells of wistful tenderness and forgiveness. But who's actually casting these spells anyway, whether they're for us, or upon us? . Look, open any page in this book, and I promise you'll stumble on at least one line that will make you laugh or shiver or trip you out.

Or your money back. -Joseph Gastiger, author of After Forever Changes Anyone familiar with John Bradley's earlier book Hotel Montparnasse: Letters to César Vallejo will not be surprised to learn the spirit of César Vallejo has cast a spell on Bradley, empowering him to produce one of the most magical, insightful books of the 21st century, As Blood Is the Fruit of the Heart: A Book of Spells. This is not a self-help book, though its poems offer some worthwhile instruction. "How to Have Sex in a Canoe," "How to Tell Someone They're Slightly Fascistic," and "How to Live Forever" are a few examples. Readers also witness "sleepers inhaling sleep" and learn "Dirt teaches us how our bodies / pass through thousands of bodies." John Bradley's book masterfully presents the incongruities emanating from the extraordinary as well as the ordinary, leading the reader on a journey into a new personal consciousness, built from humanity's ever-growing collective unconsciousness. -Ken Letko, author of Chopping Wood in the Moonlight.