Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Gottlieb's words are
slung with a particular
ferocity that expose
unexpected fault lines
in personal and societal
spaces. Not content to
be mere protest
anthems, they are
proactive and fierce with
wicked humor
.Let the
words burn into your
soul." Hilary Jirka,
Friction Magazine
Review
"Gottlieb uses language
as a weapon, as a shield,
as a means to
communicate at levels
far deeper than ordinary
speech. Why Things
Burn will tear your
heart out, even as it fills
your soul with wonder."
Deborah Peifer,
Bay Area ReporterM
Review
"This book is not about
making the reader
comfortable. Most of
the poems in the book
will bite back. That's not
even getting beneath
the surface, which this
book begs rather,
instructs you to do."
Tarin Towers
author of Sorry, We're
Close
Review
"Gottlieb has a wickedly
smart sense of humor,
edged with the pain of
human fallibility....Clever, fun, and deep all
at once."
Jennifer Joseph,
San Francisco Bay
Guardian
Synopsis
This Lambda Literary Award nominee is a book of fierce, original poetry by one of San Francisco's leading poets and performers. Educated without being didactic, lyrical without being doggerel, passionate without being over the top and sexy without being prurient, Why Things Burn is everything poetry should be, without many of the things that poetry unfortunately is. These pieces work both in performance and on the page. They tackle sexuality, lesbian issues, rape, modern urban living, and the author's Jewish heritage, with a sometimes kooky but always sophisticated view of life.
About the Author
Daphne Gottlieb is dedicated
to the fine art of provocation.
She has been widely
published in journals and
anthologies, including
nerve.com, The Exquisite
Corpse and Poetry Slam: The
Competitive Art of
Performance Poetry. She has
mouthed off around the
country with the SlamAmerica
tour, the "Hell on Heels" tour,
and Sister Spit. She lives in
San Francisco, where she
continues to stitch together
the ivory tower and the
gutter with her tongue. She
received her MFA in poetry
from Mills College. Why Things
Burn is her second book.