{"product_id":"9781619320406","title":"50 American Plays (Poems)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Their verse . . . is strikingly different. Michael's poems are interior, fragmentary, and austere, often stripped down to single-word lines; they seethe with incipient violence. Matthew's are effusive, ecstatic, and all-embracing, spilling over with pop-cultural references and exuberant carnality.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIdentical twins Michael and Matthew Dickman once invented their own language. Now they have invented an exhilarating book of poem-plays about the fifty states. Pointed, comic, and surreal, these one-page vignettes feature unusual staging and an eclectic cast of characters—landforms, lobsters, and historical figures including Duke Ellington, Sacajawea, Judy Garland, and Kenneth Koch, the avant-garde spirit informing this book introduced by playwright John Guare.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Lucky in Kansas\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eJudy Garland:  This is always the worst part\u003cbr\u003eTin Man:  The coming back\u003cbr\u003eJudy Garland:  Yes, it fucking sucks, it's depressing as shit\u003cbr\u003eThe Lion:  Well, we're lucky to still be employed at this farm\u003cbr\u003eStraw Man:  I wouldn't call it lucky\u003cbr\u003eThe Lion:  We were lucky to get back\u003cbr\u003eStraw Man:  That's not really lucky either I don't think you know what lucky means\u003cbr\u003eJudy Garland:  It's funny what you miss\u003cbr\u003eTin Man:  The running\u003cbr\u003eJudy Garland:  The flying\u003cbr\u003eTin Man:  The flying monkeys\u003cbr\u003eJudy Garland:  The beautiful flying monkeys above the endless emeralds the unbelievably green world\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichael Dickman\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eMatthew Dickman\u003c\/b\u003e are identical twins who were born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Michael received the 2010 James Laughlin Award for his second collection \u003ci\u003eFlies\u003c\/i\u003e (Copper Canyon Press, 2011). Matthew won the prestigious APR\/Honickman Award for his debut volume, \u003ci\u003eAll-American Poem\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Copper Canyon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47151747268848,"sku":"9781619320406","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781619320406_p0.jpg?v=1763855753","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781619320406","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}