95 Books In 2006, George W. Bush read 95 books. We will do better.

42. Plummet by Chris Nealon

Sly, subtle, suggestive, ironic, political poetry firmly grounded in the American language tradition. Neo-Frank O’Hara. “I am not gay, I am from the future!”

“No longer will you fool me with your tricks, John Ashbery!”

“No the poem has never quite congealed.”

etc.

43. The Joyous Age by Chris Nealon

The funniest and most clever narrative prose poems I’ve ever read are in this book. Nealon is sometimes arch, in a good way, and uses colloquialisms like nobody’s business. He’s smart, too. As when I read O’Hara, some of these poems make me want to grab the first friendly face by the collar and impassionedly recite what I’ve just read.

Anyhow, lately I’ve been finding that the personal is really, really political, and I’ve wondered more than once if someone ought to just sit down and film this. I’m not the best candidate, although I’m capable of work in several media, which you may recall from my revenge tragedies:

Innocent: Hey, what’s the access code again?

Damned: None of your fucking business!

Delish.

-Nikki