Critical Commentary
Jason Masino’s Sinner’s Prayer invites us to question and redefine sin, our relationships to it, and how those relationships impact our self-definitions. Using the seven deadly sins as a framework, Sinner’s Prayer takes us on a journey through heartbreak, consumerism, exploitation, existentialism, nihilism, and identity, with a pop soundtrack to nod our heads to all the way through. Rich with vivid poetry, crisp narrative prose, humor, and grief, Masino expertly compels us to imagine and re-imagine, as demonstrated in Poet’s Graveyard, “Your inability / to use your imagination / is gonna get you killed / someday”. — Suzi Q. Smith, Author of A Gospel of Bones
Jason Masino’s poetry and storytelling here are both sharp and humanly messy, all serving these complex notions of how we can be alone by ourselves, and alone with other people. Sinner’s Prayer inspires me to be more kind to myself. — Steven Dunn, Author of Potted Meat
