Author Description

Sabotage is a collection of poems that explores private and public acts of destruction, disruption, and vandalism in the 21st century. In Sabotage, several vital sites are under attack or at risk: the human body (including the brain and biological systems); structures of community (including family, nation, and institutional supports); and cultural legacies (including language, artistic works, and historical legacies). The sections of Sabotage frame this investigation of violations through recognizable legal and literary frameworks: Accusations, Discussions, Adaptations, Riddles, Arguments, and Defenses. The poet also acts as saboteur, attempting political action and breaking down barriers through the manipulation of language, in order to disrupt the production of goods which have left us with a tampered and soiled legacy. Poetry provides imaginative space for experimentation, dissention, and creative problem-solving. Readers of Sabotage will have the potential to assume the role of saboteurÑthe crux is, to what end? The project is intended to promote discussions of private and public health, cultural inheritance and legacy, and consumer society, while stimulating the imagination through poetic discourse to forge new connections and approach issues of cultural importance in new ways.