Because You Previously Liked or Played

The poems in Because You Previously Liked or Played explore a world mediated through technology, revealing an online persona who finds life challenging. They blend lyricism and personal expression with the language of chat rooms, gamers, and e-commerce, blurring the lines between human and inhuman, authentic and artificial, real and hyperreal. The speaker continues to quest for answers, meaning, and connection in a wired existence.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 120 pages
Publication date: 14 December 2023
Publisher: Deep Vellum Publishing

The poems in Because You Previously Liked or Played delve into a world that has become increasingly mediated through technology, where the personal and political struggle for meaning, connection, and reality manifests as a fever dream traversing the schizophrenic circuits of television, cyberspace, and virtual existence. Within this realm, the poems unveil an intensely online persona who finds navigating the real world challenging. In the reality of these poems, the reader is confronted with the complexities and nuances of a world that has become more accessible, instantaneous, and interconnected, yet also more isolating, uncertain, and even terrifying due to the influence of the internet. The speaker navigates a social sphere that has expanded in size, speed, and political instability. Lyricism and personal expression intertwine with the language and syntax of chat rooms, gamers, e-commerce, blurring the boundaries between human and inhuman, authentic and artificial, real and hyperreal. The self undergoes a metamorphosis, becoming a sequence of failed firewalls and emotions. Yet, despite the overwhelming challenges, the speaker remains steadfast in their quest for answers, meaning, and connection. These poems offer an unflinching portrayal of a wired existence, yet they retain a remarkable capacity for wonder, feeling, and surprise.

Dimension: 228 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781646052776