Shock by Shock

Shock by Shock

<div><p>"Dean Young challenges the reader to hang on as he jigs from one poetic style to another and sets a wondrous course across a Duchampian landscape."—<i>Chicago Tribune</i></P><p>"In Young's work, the big essential questions—mortality, identity, the meaning of life—aren't simply food for thought; they're grounds for entertainment."—<i>The Sunday Star </i>(Toronto)</P><p>Dean Young escorts his transplanted heart into invigorating poetic territory that combines the joy of being alive with his signature mixture of surrealism, humor, and fast-cut imagery. A Pulitzer finalist known for his hard-won insights, NPR said it best when they observed that Young sees "even in the smallest things the heights of what we can be."</P><p><b>From "Harvest":</b></P><p><i>Bring me the high heart of a trapezist.<br>If not, bring me the heart of a drunk monk<br>so I may illuminate an ancient text<br>in a language I can't understand.<br>The brain too is blood, blood racing<br>100 miles an hour on training wheels<br>so let me splash through a red puddle,<br>let me kiss the face of a red puddle,<br>let me write my crazed, extreme demands<br>on the frost-cracked window of god's split<br>chest… </i></P><p><b>Dean Young </b>is the author of twelve books of poetry, including finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and Griffin Award. He teaches at the University of Texas and lives in Austin.</div>