Shadow Boxer

By Martin Cossio

Book Overview

Written with a sense of urgency and under the pressure of Time, Shadow Boxer is an intense, honest, meditative, formal yet lyrical collection of poems by a fighter who has "lived and learned," as noted by Matthew Zapruder, author of Story of a Poem and I love Hearing Your Dreams. This docu-collection follows the author's boxing gym journey as he works to transform himself from skinny-fat underdog to super welterweight live dog. He is a literal and figurative shadow boxer, a first-generation Mexican American who fights not for but with his life, as remarked by Jill Alexander Essbaum, New York Times best-selling author of Hausfrau. In this chapbook debut, Cossio fights with his "sub"/substitute self to become a tenured teacher, fights to earn the nickname "Professor," to be "heard as well as seen" and seen as fit to be a father. These fight-poems will capture a live audience's imagination by showcasing how one can fight for their life-an American dream-by fighting for sport and with an underlying message that through drive, discipline, and dedication one can overcome their shadow self to reinvent themself on any stage of the world and at any stage in life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H48C6R16
• ISBN13: 9798899904882
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: Finishing Line Press
• Length: 36 Pages
• Weight: 0.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.1" x 5.5"