Recyclopedia

“In her previous four collections, Harryette Mullen’s influences have ranged from language poetry to the rhythms and playfulness of the black vernacular…. Suffused with both politics and literary theory, Mullen’s language refuses to be weighed down by either.” —New York Times Book Review

If you turned down the media
so I could write a book
then you could look me up
in your voluminous recyclopedia
-from Muse & Drudge

Recyclopedia shows the extraordinary development of Harryette Mullen’s career, in her books Trimmings, S*PeRM**K*T, and Muse & Drudge, all originally published in the 1990s and now made available again to new readers. These prose poems and lyrics bring us into collision with the language of fashion and femininity, advertising and the supermarket, the blues and traditional lyric poetry. With a new preface by the author, Recyclopedia is a major gathering of work by one of the most exciting and innovative poets writing in America today.

“Mullen’s is a stunningly lyrical voice, rich and resonant, engaged and engaging.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

“Hip hyperbole, thy queen is Ms. Mullen. Word Rules. Harryette hype hip-hops and bops the taut poetry trapeze. Makes me want to marimba. Makes me want to riff when I raff. To always write write.”—Sandra Cisneros

“Mullen’s infectious linguistic torques can entrance readers.” —The Village Voice