Yegor Andrianov is a poet cut off in mid-sentence. A voice about to soar and then stifled. His first book, Hauntings of Welcome Addiction is both provocative and frustrating. With rough edges, it still impels us to reach beyond the mundane for the transcendent. His gritty legacy is one of jaundiced compassion and force-fed hookers. Of grabbing grace by the throat and softly asphyxiating on cynicism. Beneath the tales of war and the streets of New York, addiction and ripped up love, an undeniable vulnerability shines through. He is finished before he begins and never begs pardon for...