My baby first birthday / Jenny Zhang.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zhang, Jenny, author.

Language:

English

Genre:

Poetry.

Physical Description:

186 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

First US edition.

Place of Publication:

Portland, Oregon : Tin House Books, 2020.

Summary:

"Radiant and tender, My Baby First Birthday is a collection that examines innocence, asking us who gets to be loved like a baby and who has to deplete themselves just to survive. My Baby First Birthday is about existence and non-existence. It's about being born-without consent. Jenny Zhang writes about accepting pain, about the way we fetishize womanhood and motherhood, and reduce women to their violations, traumas, and body parts. She questions the way we feminize and racialize nurturing, and live in service of other people's dreams. How we idealize birth and being baby, how it's only in our mothers' wombs that we're still considered innocent, blameless, and undamaged, because it's only then that we don't have to earn love. Her poems explore the obscenity of patriarchy, whiteness, and capitalism, the violence of rescue and heroism. The magic trick in this book is that despite all these themes, the book never feels like some jeremiad. Zhang uses friendship as a lyric. She seeks tenderness, radiant beauty, and having love for your mistakes. Through all this, she writes about being alone-really alone, like why-was-I-ever-born alone-and trying, despite everything, to reach out and touch something-skin to skin, animal to animal"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Fall

I keep thinking there is an august p. 3

Summer solstice p. 5

My baby first birthday p. 6

Everything is scary but yr love is good p. 10

Flush in the spirals of black holes p. 11

Bad day p. 12

Your whole body is slanted p. 13

Needs revision! p. 15

What is with you p. 21

Jenny's theme / walk away and embrace p. 22

Could I ever? p. 23

We were lonelier in there p. 25

What a terrible ****!!! p. 28

Same lesson over and over again forever p. 29

Leetle p. 30

Jenny's theme / have to accept p. 32

Dreams / So Bright Outside I Can't See p. 33

It is so lonely to be strong p. 35

It was terrible to hear the leaves p. 36

The Last Five Centuries Were Uneventful p. 38

My baby first birthday p. 43

Ted talk p. 45

Ariana's theme p. 47

Becoming a person was easy p. 48

Don't you get it p. 49

Seppuku p. 50

Little tea party at home p. 52

Uncle boo p. 55

Jenny's trying p. 56

Universal Energy Is About to Intervene in Your Life p. 57

Castles in the air for the very very p. 60

Yeast p. 62

You are the poorest person here p. 63

My sword p. 65

My baby first birthday p. 66

Ariana's theme (reprise) p. 67

Natural p. 68

Ymca p. 69

Suddenly I'm so hungry p. 72

Ell p. 73

"revision" p. 75

There is only world p. 76

Jenny's trying (reprise) p. 78

With my mother in nice p. 79

Goo goo water p. 81

Everyone's girlfriend p. 85

It's spring p. 87

Screenshot for later p. 89

It was a period when cunt was m the air p. 90

Hammer p. 92

It's so intoxicating to be unwell p. 97

No p. 98

There is Nothing to Say p. 99

Spring discourse p. 101

I feel nothing but hatred hatred hatred hatred p. 102

It brought you p. 103

Don't p. 104

Is it possible for me to become the person you love the most in your life p. 106

Tanaïs's theme p. 108

I had a lot to say p. 109

Why would you ever be friends with her? p. 111

Groupon p. 113

Fidget p. 114

Jenny's trying / victoria's theme p. 117

Someone p. 118

Remember / it brought you (reprise) p. 119

Aegean p. 120

Your pubes are everywhere p. 125

Great p. 127

Brittani's theme p. 129

Dumb theory p. 130

I know others before me have been this way p. 132

I'm a 30 year old White non racist male, with some of my closest friends being Black. With that being said p. 133

I will go for forty five minutes p. 138

From the dead dark into the green p. 140

We must rapidly begin p. 142

It is finally midsummer p. 144

Ie morning of yesterday's yesterday is for once soft p. 146

I have to p. 147

I would have no pubes if I were truly in love p. 148

Shamepuff p. 153

Communication ≠ connection p. 155

Worried p. 157

I didn't know better p. 158

Which is why I am telling you about this now p. 161

A troll p. 162

Haha hey p. 165

Baby's first birthday p. 167

Instant Classic p. 170

A little life / everyone's theme p. 172

The natural sunlight goes away p. 173

Is there a way to drain a lake you are afraid you will one day drown in? p. 175

Why do we have to all be someone p. 178

Volition p. 179

Under the chiming bell p. 180

Your Problems p. 182

It Was So Bright I Could Not See p. 184.

ISBN:

9781947793811

1947793810

OCLC:

1125356711

Publisher Number:

99984708040