"Scaffolding represents a vibrant, exploratory addition to the venerable and diverse New York tradition of 'city sonnets.' As among the teeming, gridded streets, the poems' play of pattern and randomness generates an electric dialogue between self and world, a dialogue replete as well with sonorous echoes from past and present masters (Roubaud, Rimbaud, Mallarmé, Christensen, Coleridge, Wyatt, Donne, et al.). One poem declares, 'what small joy then / the fitting of these wild pieces together.' Indeed."--Michael Palmer, author of The Laughter of the Sphinx

"In faceted and fascinating turns of mind, these uncanny sonnets build a sensational edifice of canonical form and advanced lyricism. Eléna Rivera is a wonderful poet."--Peter Gizzi, author of In Defense of Nothing: Selected Poems, 1987-2011