ABOUT WILLIAM LESSARD

William Lessard is a writer, visual artist, and editor. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in American Poetry Review, Best American Experimental Writing, Beloit Poetry Journal, Fence, the Southwest Review, and the Laurel Review. 

He is the author of the chapbook instrument for distributed empathy monetization (KERNPUNKT Press, 2022), which has been reviewed by Kirkus, Rain Taxi, and Entropy. His critical writing and conversations have been featured by the POETRY Foundation, DIAGRAM, Brooklyn Rail, and Vol. 1 Brooklyn. 

Lessard is a native New Yorker and is based in New York City. His visual work has been featured at MOMA PS1 and the synthesis gallery in Berlin. He is the Poetry & Hybrids editor at Heavy Feather Review. 

CONTACT

William Lessard can be reached via email at: talktothebear@gmail.com

FORTHCOMING PRESS

REVIEWS
"Lessard’s poetry brushes up against the walls of pure conceptualism while managing to avoid cliché and kitsch. Though small, instrument for distributed empathy monetization is a mighty release in this era of NFTs, cryptocurrency, and the Metaverse. In this regard, Lessard’s work is as much a series of ecstatic, poetic lightning bolts as it is a no-holds-barred criticism of the tech world and our Matrix-esque future. Lessard has chosen not just to describe the nightmarish evolution of technology before us, but, like the Futurists 100 years ago, to proclaim its damnation." — Rain Taxi, 2022

"[instrument for distributed empathy monetization is a] Clever, boldly innovative social commentary." — Kirkus Reviews, 2022

“Rather than a collection of absurd gobbledygook, instrument is a biting, clever chapbook of experimental poetry. It isn’t the easiest collection to read, but it asks the reader to remember how their human nature allows them to experience a range of emotions and feelings that makes their lives and experiences unique. In this day and age, it’s important to remember the value of empathy and what it means, and Lessard’s work only reminds us how important it is to hold onto that instead of asking for pennies in exchange for it.” — Blue as an Orange, 2022

"[instrument for distributed empathy monetization] is a poem for our times. Modernism and Post-modernism have faded. Welcome to the age of monetization." — Entropy, 2021

CONVERSATIONS