A vivid trip through the various theaters of an aquarium—eerie, translucent, and reflective
“Yang’s debut is as full of surprises as it is full of fish....Those
who read the collection quickly may find it witty but gimmicky; those
who bring more attention will take more away from this rare first book
that combines a simple theme (poems as sea life, the book as their
tank) with clear, sharp thought at the level of sentence and line.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Jeffrey Yang’s witty, glitzy, erudite and musical icthyographic extravaganza is the best bestiary since Lawrence and the snazziest first book in years. A starfish is born!”—Eliot Weinberger
From “Abalone” to “ Zooxanthellae,” Jeffrey Yang’s debut poetry collection is full of the exhilarating colors and ominous forms of aquatic life. But deeper under the surface are his observations on war, environmental degradation, language, and history, as a father—troubled by violence and human mismanagement of the world—offers advice to a newborn son. Here is a wonderful new voice in poetry, one that takes in the vastness and interconnectedness of life—as Yang writes in one poem, “Each / being being /being’s link.”
“In a learned and playful alphabet of ocean life (and a few other life forms), Jeffrey Yang brings us a gathering of information, philosophy, history, humor, wisdom, and poetry; lyric passages, passages of conscience, and the long shadow of prophecy. This is an essential aquarium.”
—Jean Valentine
“If you ever need to remember that we live in outer space and all that it implies, go look into an aquarium. Or read this fabulous book that wraps eco-history into alphabet and weapon development and marine movement and actually proves that they are cooperating in the construction of the monster planet that we inhabit. Thrilling, scientific, mystical, clear, hilarious, horrible—an 'aquarium' in all its complexity: this very book.”
—Fanny Howe
