Some Problems with Autobiography

Brian Brodeur's fourth collection, "Some Problems with Autobiography," explores the fragmented nature of midwestern American identity through a range of prosodic forms and hybrid genres, addressing digital technologies, ecological uncertainties, and the inadequacy of language to convey collective distress. The book features a diverse cast of characters, including a Syrian refugee, a serial killer's wife, a psychoanalyst, and a carpenter, and employs ancient modes such as dramatic-monologue sonnets, narrative sestinas, and Rubáiyát stanzas to bring them into contemporary contexts.

Format: Hardback
Length: 120 pages
Publication date: 17 March 2023
Publisher: Encounter Books,USA

Some Problems with Autobiography, Brian Brodeur's fourth collection, delves into the intricate and fragmented nature of midwestern American identity through a series of poems that span diverse prosodic forms and hybrid genres. This book oscillates between self-mockery, meditative introspection, and tragi-comic elements, exploring the perils of digital technologies, ecological uncertainties, and the limitations of language in capturing our collective anguish. It raises profound questions about the capacity of the human heart to withstand both pleasure and hardship. Brodeur's narrative poems feature a unique dramatis personae, including a Syrian refugee participating in a writing workshop, the wife of an accused serial killer seeking legal representation, a horny psychoanalyst confessing a dream, and a carpenter employed by the Department of Education during New York City's initial lockdown. These characters inhabit a world that is both familiar and surreal, drawing upon ancient modes of storytelling to convey contemporary perspectives. From dramatic-monologue sonnets and narrative sestinas to discursive lyrics cast in Rubáiyát stanzas and Alcaic strophes, Some Problems with Autobiography seamlessly blends ancient modes with startlingly contemporary contexts, creating a rich and thought-provoking exploration of identity, language, and the human condition.

Dimension: 215 x 139 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781641773324