Funny and diabolical, these short, linked, prose poems describe a girl's need to escape from a world of lust and lawnmowers into a dream world. From child to adult, the poet imagines her life as a new Houdini.
"Full of nouveau folklore, quirky unrequited narratives, and mock dream analysis, Nin Andrews' work is always surprising, sharp, and wild."-Denise Duhamel
"Pepper Facts
"It's true what they say. A certain kind of spice can get under a woman's skin. Once ingested, she will taste it in the air and on her sheets; she might feel as if she were living in a Mexican restaurant. For a while a woman might think it's the man she's sleeping with, that he's gotten inside her clothes and every cell she is. Chilies are potent, no doubt about it; some contain antibiotic properties, inspiring a fire to rise in the blood, replicating the sensation and biochemistry of romance. A woman will lie awake, tossing and stirring, unable to sleep. She will eat bowl after bowl of ice cream beneath a full moon. But in the end, she will discover it's nothing a little baking soda in her wash and toothpaste can't cure. And what a relief she will feel then! She might howl at the stars. Or dance nude in a snow storm, her arms flung wide to the wind and singing cold, happy at last to be listening to her own thoughts that promise her, never again. Never again.
