Full Description
A new poetry collection from award-winning author Michael Chang
A vital breath of life arrives in American poetry with Synthetic Jungle, the latest collection from acclaimed poet Michael Chang. With poems in a register both hilarious and scathing, Synthetic Jungle effortlessly bashes convention while simultaneously rebuilding the language we use to communicate our fears and joys.
Synthetic Jungle is a collection written by a brilliant jester who winks at you as you catch their every reference before sharing a laugh at your own self-satisfaction. Themes of identity, sexuality, and literacy play out in a dizzying rhythm of microtheaters. Readers will find themselves giggling, snorting, and guffawing their way through this work: whether at a repudiation of the literary landscape or a critique of a failing justice system, to laugh along with Chang is to recognize your mistakes and, ultimately, grow from them.
Fractal and kinetic in the quick-witted spirit of John Ashbery and Emily Dickinson, Chang's tender poems dance around, between, and through the personal and philosophical. Synthetic Jungle is as sweet as it is grand, and beneath its sarcastic grin reverberates an immense, open heart.
Contents
CHARM AGAINST TOO MANY APPLES . . . 1
CADUCITY . . . 2
MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER WITH NO MOTIVATION . . . 3
YOUR PLACE, OR ANOTHER TRIP TO DEAN & DELUCA . . . 4
SINGLES NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM . . . 5
SUPPOSEDLY A MORNING PERSON . . . 6
WHITE FORD BRONCO . . . 7
SOUTHPAW . . . 8
POLAR BEARS IN LITTLE ITALY . . . 9
BEST BUDDIES, 1990 . . . 10
CAVALLI LOUNGE LIZARD . . . 12
THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF LOBSTER BISQUE . . . 13
RASPUTIN . . . 14
UNDERSTUDY . . . 15
TEACHER'S PET . . . 16
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD PHILOSOPHER-KING . . . 17
MY FOREVER PERSON . . . 19
STAR-SHAPED . . . 20
FREAKS TO THE FRONT . . . 21
POP SHOP II, 1988 . . . 22
ST. MARK'S CONFESSIONAL . . . 23
MUSCLES . . . 24
MENTAIKO . . . 25
EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE . . . 26
SWIRLING HAUNTED HOUSE . . . 27
HOMESCHOOL PROM KING . . . 28
HAPPY WARRIOR . . . 29
SIX BITS . . . 30
SYNTHETIC JUNGLE DIPTYCH . . . 31
POEM BEGINNING WITH LINE FROM RILKE . . . 32
GLORIA VANDERBILT . . . 33
HALF DAY CLOSING . . . 34
DO U MIND WE ARE EATING HERE . . . 35
WHITE TENNIS SHOES . . . 36
DOING BATTLE WITH THE ONE WHO BRINGS FLOWERS . . . 37
TWENTY, THIRTY . . . 38
TOO GOOD FOR YOU & OTHER STORIES . . . 39
ANTISOCIAL SOCIAL CLUB . . . 40
NEXT ON THE UPGRADE LIST . . . 41
ZUM ZUM . . . 42
MY MOTHER SAID I'M TOO ROMANTIC . . . 43
LEG OF LAMB . . . 44
GIN & MILK . . . 45
COCO CHANEL SEARCH & RESCUE . . . 46
COLD WAR . . . 47
STUDENT-ATHLETE'S COLLEGE RECRUITMENT GUIDE . . . 48
U.F.O. & DOLPHIN, 1982 . . . 49
THE OVERLY-AGGRESSIVE FORTUNE COOKIE SPEAKS . . . 51
NOT SUITABLE . . . 52
LIFE IS GOLDEN . . . 53
SUEDE KISSES . . . 54
UPON HEARING SYLVESTER FOR THE FIRST TIME . . . 55
MAX'S KANSAS CITY . . . 56
ACCIDENTAL ANARCHIST . . . 57
FREE THROW . . . 59
CHARLATANS . . . 60
SIMPATICO . . . 61
JACKET REQUIRED . . . 62
ISTANBUL . . . 63
WORKING STIFF . . . 64
