“There’s a gorgeous vulnerability to D.S. Maolalai’s Noble Rot. These poems, rich in variety and location, capture an accumulation of small moments and gestures that reflect back to us the inevitable progression of time – I guess this is my first shot at becoming old, really. Whether set in Canada, Kilbarrack, Istanbul, the poet, with seemingly singular intention, returns again and again to small, local, incidental details that one suspects his younger self might have missed, which alchemise the fleeting experience into something precious and lasting. The down-to-earth tone and language used throughout gifts the reader an intimacy. A full-bodied read, Noble Rot will have you calling for another, and another round.”