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Working Class Represent
WORKING CLASS REPRESENT - Poetry by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
"Aptowicz is the real deal, the genuine article, and her work is like the household product you never knew you needed, but that you cannot live without."
John S. Hall, author Jesus was Way Cool"
In her third collection of poetry, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz celebrates all the ups and downs of being performance poet with a day job. Whether exulting the mundanity of office life ("Rules of Slack"), musing about hidden perks of college poetry gigs ("Ode to College Cafeterias") or hilariously defending the use of humor in poetry ("To the Guy Who Said that Funny Poetry Ain't Poetry"), this book continues her tradition of witty, honest and idiosyncratic work. This expanded version includes dozens previously unpublished poems as well as well-worn favorites, such as "QaParHa," her pop-culture-saturated love poem which is (partially) delivered in Klingon.
"Aptowicz is the real deal, the genuine article, and her work is like the household product you never knew you needed, but that you cannot live without."
John S. Hall, author Jesus was Way Cool"
In her third collection of poetry, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz celebrates all the ups and downs of being performance poet with a day job. Whether exulting the mundanity of office life ("Rules of Slack"), musing about hidden perks of college poetry gigs ("Ode to College Cafeterias") or hilariously defending the use of humor in poetry ("To the Guy Who Said that Funny Poetry Ain't Poetry"), this book continues her tradition of witty, honest and idiosyncratic work. This expanded version includes dozens previously unpublished poems as well as well-worn favorites, such as "QaParHa," her pop-culture-saturated love poem which is (partially) delivered in Klingon.
- GenresPoetry
99 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
90 people want to read
About the author
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
19 books118 followersCristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is an American poet who was recently awarded a 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry.
She is the author of five books of poetry, including the recently released Everything is Everthing (Write Bloody Publishing), as well as the canonical slam history, Words in Your Face (Soft Skull Press), which U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins wrote “leaves no doubt that the slam poetry scene has achieved legitimacy and taken its rightful place on the map of contemporary literature.”
Founder of the three-time National Poetry Slam Championship venue, NYC-Urbana, Cristin has toured widely with her poetry, at venues as diverse as NYC’s Joe’s Pub, LA’s Largo Theatre and Australia’s Sydney Opera House. Cristin’s poetry books are published on Write Bloody Press, and available at all online & brick-and-order bookstores.
Her poetry has appeared (or is forthcoming) in McSweeney’s Internet Tendencies, Rattle, Pank, Barrelhouse, MonkeyBicycle, decomP, Conduit and La Petite Zine (among others), as well as in anthologies such as Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Spoken Word, Learn Then Burn: Modern Poetry For the Classroom, Bowery Women and Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution (among others).
She is the author of five books of poetry, including the recently released Everything is Everthing (Write Bloody Publishing), as well as the canonical slam history, Words in Your Face (Soft Skull Press), which U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins wrote “leaves no doubt that the slam poetry scene has achieved legitimacy and taken its rightful place on the map of contemporary literature.”
Founder of the three-time National Poetry Slam Championship venue, NYC-Urbana, Cristin has toured widely with her poetry, at venues as diverse as NYC’s Joe’s Pub, LA’s Largo Theatre and Australia’s Sydney Opera House. Cristin’s poetry books are published on Write Bloody Press, and available at all online & brick-and-order bookstores.
Her poetry has appeared (or is forthcoming) in McSweeney’s Internet Tendencies, Rattle, Pank, Barrelhouse, MonkeyBicycle, decomP, Conduit and La Petite Zine (among others), as well as in anthologies such as Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Spoken Word, Learn Then Burn: Modern Poetry For the Classroom, Bowery Women and Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution (among others).
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 5, 2012
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz does it again! I really don't know how it's possible to be so awesome. She strikes a delicate balance between joking around and being serious; it's perfect. When the back of the book says "witty, honest and idiosyncratic" it isn't kidding. She is completely versatile. My favorites in this book are QarpaHa! ('I Love You' in Klingon), Ode to My Morning Cup of Coffee, and Notes on Rejection(s). I've heard her perform a few from this book, which influenced me, but even ones I hadn't heard before, I loved. I actually laughed (out loud) taking the C-train home (from buying it) yesterday reading Dear Whoever is Sending Pictures to my Phone. Of course, no one can say she isn't serious; Sexton and Plath, about women who inspired her who took their own lives. All I'd Leave Behind is about confronting the possibility of death.
Anyway, before I ramble on for years about this, let me sum up by saying this book is amazing.
December 20, 2012
I don't love every poem in this book, and I don't always love her line choices, but she hits it out of the park so many times, the best poems here make up for it. She has a strong, sharp voice that carries the reader through the book. I love that the book is about a poet's struggle to work a day job or not. Also, the poem "Billy Collins" made me laugh out loud.
July 8, 2023
A friend sent this to me for my birthday - there are two poems specifically near the end that had me laughing out loud. And not just a chuckle - I mean - delighted guffaws. If you’re interested in poetry - you need to add this to your collection.
May 4, 2020
More wonderful poems from Aptowicz. I think I will read "Sexton and Plath" at my next poetry reading. And funny poetry is what makes the poetry world go round.
July 29, 2016
Not all of these poems were meant for me, so I couldn't relate to them as easily-- the only reason this is four instead of five stars. I loved the poems that were talking about rejection and poetry, and as always Cristin is a hoot!
September 11, 2019
As always Aptowicz's whit shines through. These are poems for the everywoman. Any poetry that elevates the everyday will always connect with me. And it is nice to know that someone shares my internal struggle with the brilliance that is Jim Daniels.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews