Richard Modiano

NIGHT BIRD FLYING
by Danny Shot
Roadside Press
Release date: February 12, 2025. Available for pre-order.

Danny Shot’s Night Bird Flying from Roadside Press is a fierce and poignant collection that captures the grit and tenderness of life on the fringes—where New Jersey meets New York and scars of the past meet the possibility of healing. Shot’s voice is steeped in the dualities of identity, blending humor with heartache and toughness with vulnerability.

In “Ich bin ein New Yorker,” Shot wrestles with his outsider status in the New York literary scene, even though he lived in the city and shared spaces with renowned poets. He tackles the sting of being labeled “a Jersey poet” with wry humor and underlying frustration, bringing to light the complex sense of belonging that drives much of his work. This piece not only speaks to a personal journey but resonates with anyone who has struggled to claim a place in a world that questions their authenticity.

Shot’s reflections on physical and emotional scars in “72 Scars” expand this theme. With raw honesty, he shares painful memories of a brutal acne condition and the unspoken wounds of unrequited love, hinting at the cumulative weight of all the scars life leaves behind. These vignettes bring out a universal truth: scars are more than physical marks—they’re reminders of resilience and survival, woven into our very sense of self.

The collection also delves into the chaos of adolescence, as seen in “And We Drown.” Shot’s scenes of reckless teenage drinking, bruised egos, and toxic masculinity are vivid and visceral. Shot doesn’t shy away from dark humor, capturing the gritty reality of his suburban youth with brutal honesty and the wisdom of hindsight.

Finally, in pieces like “A South Bronx Tale” and “What a Wonderful World,” Shot balances his reflection on love, grief, and fleeting happiness against the bleakness of urban life. “A South Bronx Tale” exposes the harsh, almost prison-like conditions of Samuel Gompers High School, where Shot taught for a decade, depicting the challenges students and educators face in a stark urban landscape. Meanwhile, “What a Wonderful World” is a tribute to lost love, where Shot’s tough exterior melts, revealing an aching sensitivity. His memories of Carla are woven with sadness, nostalgia, and a poignant reminder of the past’s grip on the present.

Night Bird Flying is a collection that echoes with the authentic voice of someone who has walked the margins, seen the beauty and the bleakness, and is unafraid to share it all. Danny Shot’s work is at once uniquely personal and broadly relatable, capturing the scars and survival that shape us all.

–Richard Modiano

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