Distributed for Tupelo Press
Master Suffering
This book is full of the questions and uncomfortable uncertainties that grief and the body bring; it is also full of speakers who are determined, and then unsure. The female bodies of Master Suffering want power to survive; they want to control and to correct the suffering they witness and withstand. But wanting can lead to suffering, too, and make speakers like Burroughs ask: “Why / should I have wanted so much / as to threaten my being?”
Table of Contents
I.
The Lovers 3
To Be in Love 4
Body as a Juncture of Almost 5
II 6
III 7
IV 8
V 9
VI 10
Questions During Protest 11
Before Autopsy 12
The Wait 13
Incidents for the Forgettery 14
Incidents for the Forgettery 15
Incidents for the Forgettery 16
II.
Most Beautiful Thing 19
Supposition 20
Basic Training 22
Wean and Stop 23
Dear Liver 24
Dear Liver 25
Incidents for The Forgettery 26
Dear Liver 27
God Letter 28
God Letter 30
God Letter 3I
God Letter 32
God Letter 33
God Letter 35
Ill.
The Unbeliever 39
My Home Having Come to This 40
When She is Looking Mean and Impressive 41
When She is Looking Mean and Impressive 42
Elegy for a Server 43
Ownership, Play 44
I Am Warm, I Know Nothing 45
To Be Saved 46
NOTES 47
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 49
The Lovers 3
To Be in Love 4
Body as a Juncture of Almost 5
II 6
III 7
IV 8
V 9
VI 10
Questions During Protest 11
Before Autopsy 12
The Wait 13
Incidents for the Forgettery 14
Incidents for the Forgettery 15
Incidents for the Forgettery 16
II.
Most Beautiful Thing 19
Supposition 20
Basic Training 22
Wean and Stop 23
Dear Liver 24
Dear Liver 25
Incidents for The Forgettery 26
Dear Liver 27
God Letter 28
God Letter 30
God Letter 3I
God Letter 32
God Letter 33
God Letter 35
Ill.
The Unbeliever 39
My Home Having Come to This 40
When She is Looking Mean and Impressive 41
When She is Looking Mean and Impressive 42
Elegy for a Server 43
Ownership, Play 44
I Am Warm, I Know Nothing 45
To Be Saved 46
NOTES 47
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 49