Book of the Week #24

Evidence that We are Descended from Chairs by Andrew Merton (Lexington, KY: Accents Publishing, 2012)

Touching on topics from mental illness to snow to karma this poetry collection by UNH professor Andrew Merton is full of funny, sad, true poems.  Charles Simic wrote the introduction to this volume.
Merton will be reading at Gibson's on June 28, 2012 starting at 7pm. Be warned though, you might need to leave early.

Why I Left The Poetry Reading Early

I wanted to applaud

after the very first poem,

in which the famous poet

revealed the secrets of the universe

and the human soul

with no more effort than a shrug.

The second poem put the first to shame.

I was forced to restrain myself

by gripping the edges of my chair

and sitting on my thumbs.

Soon it took all my resolve

to keep from shouting "Bravo"

after nearly every line;

five more minutes of this

and nothing would have stopped me

from rising, unbidden,

and burbling superlatives.

So I left.

As I tiptoed down the hall

I thought I heard the famous poet say:

"Now we can really begin."

Andrew Merton's poem is reproduced here with the publisher's permission.