Dead reckoning is the nautical term for calculating a ship's position using the distance and direction traveled rather than instruments or astronomical observation. For those still recovering from the atrocities of the twentieth century, however, the term has an even grimmer meaning: toting up the butcher's bill of war and genocide.

As its title suggests, Dead Reckoning is an attempt to find our bearings in a civilization lost at sea. Conducted in the shadow of the centennial of the First World War, this dialogue between Romanian American poet Andrei Guruianu and Italian American essayist Anthony Di Renzo asks whether Western culture will successfully navigate the difficult waters of the new millennium or shipwreck itself on the mistakes of the past two centuries. Using historical and contemporary examples, they explore such topics as the limitations of memory, the transience of existence, the futility of history, and the difficulties of making art and meaning in the twenty-first century.

Andrei Guruianu teaches in the Expository Writing Program at New York University. His previous books include the poetry collections Made in the Image of Stones and Portrait without a Mouth. Anthony Di Renzo is Associate Professor of Writing at Ithaca College and the author of many books, including Bitter Greens: Essays on Food, Politics, and Ethnicity from the Imperial Kitchen, also published by SUNY Press.

TO THE READER

I. MEMORY, YOU SAVAGE TRIUMPH

Andrei
A Blueprint for Memory
Return through a Gap in Time
Propaganda of the Self
From All Points East

Antonio
Laughing in the Ruins (Pt. 1)

Andrei
Echoes of a Remembered Sentiment
Truth and Tangents (or What Becomes Art)
Lipscani

Antonio
Laughing in the Ruins (Pt. 2)

II. THE ART OF EXILE

Andrei
Yes, I Am. Maybe.
Some Call It a Performance
Of Marionettes
The Faces We Wear

Antonio
A Hole in the Sky (Pt. 1)

Andrei
Because We Are Meant to Be Forgotten
Zero-Sum
Not-Light

Antonio
A Hole in the Sky (Pt. 2)

III. HISTORY, OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Andrei
Communism, the After-Christmas Sale
One Kiss, for the Revolution
Open for Business
Imperial Song

Antonio
The Last Mirage (Pt. 1)

Andrei
Bad Habits of Old Women
First Sign of Promise
Vicious Cycle

Antonio
The Last Mirage (Pt. 2)

IV. AN AUTOPSY OF BELIEF

Andrei
Pray Daily: Use Words If You Must
When the Oil Burns Low
The City of Logical Conclusions
A Rough Angelology

Antonio
Duino Elegies (Pt. 1)

Andrei
Between Gods
The Candle Is Out; No Matches
Arrival of the Invitation; Inconclusive Directions

Antonio
Duino Elegies (Pt. 2)

V. THE CUNNING OF REASON

Andrei
Peddling Myth
On a Day between Seasons
Waiting Our Turn
Legends and Other Ordinary Things

Antonio
Bread and Circuses (Pt. 1) Andrei
Parallel Vista
Exit Strategy
The Future Is Best Eaten with a Wooden Spoon

Antonio
Bread and Circuses (Pt. 2)

VI. ETERNAL RECURRENCES

Andrei
A Blueprint for Memory (Redux)
Insert Inspirational Slogan Here
Talking Old Country Blues
It Could Have Been a Dream

Antonio
Nietzsche in Turin (Pt. 1)

Andrei
Always the Small Things
On the Outside Looking In
How It Was and How It Should Be (When Death Happens at a Distance)

Antonio
Nietzsche in Turin (Pt. 2)

VII. AFTER BABEL

Andrei
Nonwords
Instructions for Learning a New Language
Anatomy of Dreams
Encoded

Antonio
Dreams of a Common Language (Pt. 1)

Andrei
Palimpsest
Under Our Fingernails
Wordless

Antonio
Dreams of a Common Language (Pt. 2)

VIII. WHAT'S SO REAL ABOUT SURREALISM?

Andrei
Funny When You Think about It
Even Though Everyone Knows Better
Without a Hero
It Ends Differently

Antonio
The Disquieting Muses (Pt. 1)

Andrei
Frat, ii Mei (My Brothers)
Arrangement for Stills
A Common Thing

Antonio
The Disquieting Muses (Pt. 2)

IX. CHILDHOOD AND ITS DERIVATIVES

Andrei
The Eternal Children
One Continuous
What You Leave Behind
The Other Side Of

Antonio
Giovinezza (Pt. 1)

Andrei
Psalm for the Children of the Rain
The Plot Against
Vignette

Antonio