What do you think?
Rate this book
While Standing in Line for Death
"From these rituals come notes; from those notes come poems; and from those poems comes not just a view into his process, but an entrance into another present." —Boston Globe
After his boyfriend Earth's murder, CAConrad was looking for a (Soma)tic poetry ritual to overcome his depression. This new book of eighteen rituals and their resulting poems contains that success, along with other political actions and exercises that testify to poetry's ability to reconnect us and help put an end to our alienation from the planet.
unfastened
in the backseat a
portion of the music is
mucus flying into stillness
at what point do we submit
to the authority of flowers
at what point after it enters
the mouth is it no longer in the
mouth but the throat the colon
making sumptuous death of the world
this is what crossing the line gains
no need to pretend we
are the people we
want to be in
the next life
bone under
tongue drives
taste of snow to metal…
CAConrad is the author of ECODEVIANCE: (Soma)tics for the Future Wilderness, A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon, and The Book of Frank, as well as several other books of poetry and essays. Most recently, he has co-edited Supplication: Selected Poems of John Wieners. A 2014 Lannan Fellow, a 2013 MacDowell Fellow, and a 2011 Pew Fellow, he also conducts workshops on (Soma)tic poetry and Ecopoetics.
After his boyfriend Earth's murder, CAConrad was looking for a (Soma)tic poetry ritual to overcome his depression. This new book of eighteen rituals and their resulting poems contains that success, along with other political actions and exercises that testify to poetry's ability to reconnect us and help put an end to our alienation from the planet.
unfastened
in the backseat a
portion of the music is
mucus flying into stillness
at what point do we submit
to the authority of flowers
at what point after it enters
the mouth is it no longer in the
mouth but the throat the colon
making sumptuous death of the world
this is what crossing the line gains
no need to pretend we
are the people we
want to be in
the next life
bone under
tongue drives
taste of snow to metal…
CAConrad is the author of ECODEVIANCE: (Soma)tics for the Future Wilderness, A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon, and The Book of Frank, as well as several other books of poetry and essays. Most recently, he has co-edited Supplication: Selected Poems of John Wieners. A 2014 Lannan Fellow, a 2013 MacDowell Fellow, and a 2011 Pew Fellow, he also conducts workshops on (Soma)tic poetry and Ecopoetics.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published September 12, 2017
15 people are currently reading
667 people want to read
About the author
C.A. Conrad
45 books581 followersCAConrad’s childhood included selling cut flowers along the highway for his mother and helping her shoplift. He is the author of 9 books of poetry and essays the latest While Standing In Line For Death is forthcoming from Wave Books in September 2017. He is a Pew Fellow and has also received fellowships from Lannan Foundation, MacDowell Colony, Headlands Center for the Arts, Banff, RADAR, Flying Ojbect and Ucross. For his books, essays, and details on the documentary The Book of Conrad (Delinquent Films, 2016), please visit http://CAConrad.blogspot.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
March 27, 2021
I have seen within the comments that reviews for this collection are rather mixed and extremely polar, with one group criticizing the work for a "lack of structure" and another praising Conrad for their examination into American society at large. I generally fall into the ladder category. I would like to distinguish that, however, even though Conrad's commentary is inquisitive and impressive, that was not the part that made this book astoundingly enjoyable for me. I'll address two things: firstly, I address the prospective reader: While Standing in Line for Death is fun--don't let a stinky, cranky critic get in the way of your fun. Secondly, I address the cranky critic who likes to believe that poetry is always supposed to be structured.
My Dear Prospective Readers,
I believe that in these little worlds we create on GoodReads, these little pseudo-intellectual "bubbles" that we fashion to give us, as a reader, some perceived credibility as an unofficial scholar or critic, forget the purpose of poetry and reading at large: this habit is supposed to be fun and intellectual at the same time. While Standing in Line for Death does have its more serious moments, it is undoubtedly a lot of fun. The rituals were amusing and entertaining, while also being thought provoking and aware about social and sexual disparities. Never forget that a laugh can be also met with a cry or a shout. Have fun when you're supposed to, cry when you need to, and scream and tighten your fists when it is important to do so. If you believe fun, revolution, sadness, and agitation can all be bridged into one, please read this book.
Sincerely,
A queer on the internet that has too much fun.
My Dear Cranky Intellectuals,
Poetry, despite what some critics will say, does not need "structure." It is a reflection of the mind, the soul, the psyche. To believe that this part of our ontology is always ordered in neat little paragraphs, words, and chapters is frankly silly. Maybe a proponent of this highly-structured poetic experience should read something other than Wilde or Homer and realize that all art doesn't have to be representational of some physical narrative or figure. It's like when people say that modern, abstract art is inferior to, say, baroque art because of a lack of realism or structure. Maybe, even, Kazimir Malevich is a more realistic painter than Caspar David Friedrich, because Malevich doesn't just stop his artistic creation at merely the physical but goes onto the metaphysical and abstract. Maybe, Conrad is utilizing a malleable language and structure to represent revolution in all of it's beautiful abstractions and disorder. My dear, lovely reader, try to find some beauty in the nonpictoral.
Sincerely,
Somebody probably younger than you
My Dear Prospective Readers,
I believe that in these little worlds we create on GoodReads, these little pseudo-intellectual "bubbles" that we fashion to give us, as a reader, some perceived credibility as an unofficial scholar or critic, forget the purpose of poetry and reading at large: this habit is supposed to be fun and intellectual at the same time. While Standing in Line for Death does have its more serious moments, it is undoubtedly a lot of fun. The rituals were amusing and entertaining, while also being thought provoking and aware about social and sexual disparities. Never forget that a laugh can be also met with a cry or a shout. Have fun when you're supposed to, cry when you need to, and scream and tighten your fists when it is important to do so. If you believe fun, revolution, sadness, and agitation can all be bridged into one, please read this book.
Sincerely,
A queer on the internet that has too much fun.
My Dear Cranky Intellectuals,
Poetry, despite what some critics will say, does not need "structure." It is a reflection of the mind, the soul, the psyche. To believe that this part of our ontology is always ordered in neat little paragraphs, words, and chapters is frankly silly. Maybe a proponent of this highly-structured poetic experience should read something other than Wilde or Homer and realize that all art doesn't have to be representational of some physical narrative or figure. It's like when people say that modern, abstract art is inferior to, say, baroque art because of a lack of realism or structure. Maybe, even, Kazimir Malevich is a more realistic painter than Caspar David Friedrich, because Malevich doesn't just stop his artistic creation at merely the physical but goes onto the metaphysical and abstract. Maybe, Conrad is utilizing a malleable language and structure to represent revolution in all of it's beautiful abstractions and disorder. My dear, lovely reader, try to find some beauty in the nonpictoral.
Sincerely,
Somebody probably younger than you
November 2, 2019
Another poetry book, another low rating
Sena it's up to you to make me understand what's going on lol
Sena it's up to you to make me understand what's going on lol
February 13, 2025
Thank you
October 31, 2017
Along with Fred Moten, Simone White, and Dana Ward, CA Conrad is one of the greatest American poets to emerge in the last twenty years. This book further solidifies it.
This excerpt gives good description of what happens with every one of CAConrad's books I read:
the tongue gives
the mind a chance to get
thunderstruck reading a
poem aloud you know how it is
This excerpt gives good description of what happens with every one of CAConrad's books I read:
the tongue gives
the mind a chance to get
thunderstruck reading a
poem aloud you know how it is
January 4, 2020
quickly learned this is not something for me the poems like words randomly thrown together sometimes making and rarely making sense the author i support in theory but certainly would not enjoy in person
September 4, 2020
010920: quarantine buddy read #17 with Keagan!
040920: knocking this down a star because keagan pointed out the awful line breaks to me and now i can’t unsee them
040920: knocking this down a star because keagan pointed out the awful line breaks to me and now i can’t unsee them
February 1, 2018
I'm not sure what I could really say about this book. So many things came in and out of my life that wove thru the poems too. I am not all the way there with CA on everything they do and believe, but I have deep respect for this amazing process, and how frank (no pun intended) it all is, and how unabashedly in love with poetry this poetry is.
My milk jug exploded in my hands one day when I was carrying groceries inside, for no reason. The milk pooled on the garage floor after I set it down, gone out to two sides like little wings, like my jug died and went to heaven, and then on Facebook I saw a recall notice for the brand of milk I was replenishing, as sanitizer had made its way into it (and I'd wondered about the taste, but chalked it up to my winter blues, a bit of poor judgement that dominates my palate sometimes), and then that evening I am in bed and my dog is sleeping on my groin on top of the blankets and SNORING so so loud and there comes milk all over again:
//
Home.4
a razor across / the thumb / a razor cuts / us into the / fable tonight / something like / milk out of the faucet / you / said it was / time to leave the building / I'm not leaving / I'm not running from milk / the poet took a / wrong turn to / let you into the poems / there's room in here / come in / gallons of milk / take showers in it / fattens the plants / the cats and / I are splendid
//
Thank you to CA for being so unabashedly POET AS THIS and thank you to Jami Macarty for making sure they made it onto my reading list!!!
My milk jug exploded in my hands one day when I was carrying groceries inside, for no reason. The milk pooled on the garage floor after I set it down, gone out to two sides like little wings, like my jug died and went to heaven, and then on Facebook I saw a recall notice for the brand of milk I was replenishing, as sanitizer had made its way into it (and I'd wondered about the taste, but chalked it up to my winter blues, a bit of poor judgement that dominates my palate sometimes), and then that evening I am in bed and my dog is sleeping on my groin on top of the blankets and SNORING so so loud and there comes milk all over again:
//
Home.4
a razor across / the thumb / a razor cuts / us into the / fable tonight / something like / milk out of the faucet / you / said it was / time to leave the building / I'm not leaving / I'm not running from milk / the poet took a / wrong turn to / let you into the poems / there's room in here / come in / gallons of milk / take showers in it / fattens the plants / the cats and / I are splendid
//
Thank you to CA for being so unabashedly POET AS THIS and thank you to Jami Macarty for making sure they made it onto my reading list!!!
December 31, 2018
There are some really moving and insightful lines in this book. But, I found the prose sections to be lackadaisical, and the book feels very loosely structured. I'd like to give CAConrad's more well-known works a look, because the poetry is great; I'm just not sure this book as a whole showcases Conrad at their best. 6/10
March 19, 2023
CAConrad nous parle de l'amour perdu et de l'abandon de ceux qui restent. Un recueil de poésie-grimoire, où les rituels se succèdent. D'une langue crue et incisive, on suit le cheminement de la reconstruction d'un homme au coeur blessé.
April 14, 2019
yes the present
is between the
past and future
but is too radical
to be called
the middle
is between the
past and future
but is too radical
to be called
the middle
October 28, 2020
I learn a lot from my daughters about literature, politics, and ways of being in the world. This book is the latest in that web of learning. CAConrad has been writing poetry for decades, and the poems in this book began as seeds and whispers from various rituals they invented and reflected on. I found the rituals as intriguing as the poetry, perhaps moreso, because rituals are something about which I teach. These rituals, finding me in a time of pandemic, "while standing in line for death," sparked possibilities for grounding and creativity, stretching parameters from my more narrow life. Take time to savor this one. The book/work is also a reminder that poetry is all around us, as are poets, sparks, and imagination, in anthologies, magazines, visual art, and translation. Thankful.
read-some-poems
May 22, 2024Read the first sequence "Mount Monadnock Transmissions" and found it subpar. CAConrad revels in the tragedy of their partner's rape and murder, loosely describes the continuing aftermath filled with rage and grief and the anguish of silence. But the language is generic, the play with the lines appears to both be not be following the concrete poem mode to no avail, and CAConrad's tendencies trend toward the woo-woo and inconsequential for me, both emotionally and intellectually. The thematic material is not explored formally with great enough depth. Back to the library it goes.
August 9, 2021
While reading I had
a dream that the train path
ended in a river ❤️
a dream that the train path
ended in a river ❤️
October 31, 2022
CAConrad nous parle de l'amour perdu et de l'abandon de ceux qui restent. Un recueil de poésie-grimoire, où les rituels se succèdent. Parfois un peu brouillon, d'une langue crue et incisive, on suit le cheminement de la reconstruction d'un homme au coeur blessé.
February 19, 2019
Less the poems. More the rituals.
October 22, 2019
[rating = D]
Though I disliked this collection, the content (themes, ideas, practices) are important and valuable. I am not saying to not read this work! However...
I found that the only parts I really enjoyed, for their dark humor, questioning of societal standards, institutional setups and hierarchies were the parts written in prose. Warning, the beginning part is rather violent and graphic (it deals with murder and hate). I was totally unprepared for such an attack on my sensibilities; really, CAConrad just starts with this violent act on his late lover Earth and goes from there. Though it is powerful and sorrowful and really makes me dislike the hatred and stupidity of narrowminded people, I felt he could have handled his frustration and anger better (at least when it came to sharing it with people, who are routing for him, his readers). I thought the use of "rituals" to write poetry was fascinating and the writing of them was actually better than the poems that came out of these procedures. There was a cryptic formlessness of layout and of content matter (occasionally) that perturbed me in trying to decipher the poems. I mean this allowed for multiple interpretations, but really minimalized the power of what he wanted to get across. This often left me worried and annoyed, hence the lower rating. The book as a whole sort of documented text of his "rituals" and ways of dealing with violence and grief is wonderful, original. Yet, the individual is lost and so the whole must also suffer a shock from his realization. At times he reminded me of when David Sedaris gets off the his funny rails and starts to get preachy. This is not the way to make your point understood or empathized with. Use facts and clarity, do not go for hyper-emotional gadgetry. In all, I feel this was a success for him, and that means the most, that is the best outcome sometimes. But the gritty reality of it and the overall arch and tone used put me off, unfortunately.
Though I disliked this collection, the content (themes, ideas, practices) are important and valuable. I am not saying to not read this work! However...
I found that the only parts I really enjoyed, for their dark humor, questioning of societal standards, institutional setups and hierarchies were the parts written in prose. Warning, the beginning part is rather violent and graphic (it deals with murder and hate). I was totally unprepared for such an attack on my sensibilities; really, CAConrad just starts with this violent act on his late lover Earth and goes from there. Though it is powerful and sorrowful and really makes me dislike the hatred and stupidity of narrowminded people, I felt he could have handled his frustration and anger better (at least when it came to sharing it with people, who are routing for him, his readers). I thought the use of "rituals" to write poetry was fascinating and the writing of them was actually better than the poems that came out of these procedures. There was a cryptic formlessness of layout and of content matter (occasionally) that perturbed me in trying to decipher the poems. I mean this allowed for multiple interpretations, but really minimalized the power of what he wanted to get across. This often left me worried and annoyed, hence the lower rating. The book as a whole sort of documented text of his "rituals" and ways of dealing with violence and grief is wonderful, original. Yet, the individual is lost and so the whole must also suffer a shock from his realization. At times he reminded me of when David Sedaris gets off the his funny rails and starts to get preachy. This is not the way to make your point understood or empathized with. Use facts and clarity, do not go for hyper-emotional gadgetry. In all, I feel this was a success for him, and that means the most, that is the best outcome sometimes. But the gritty reality of it and the overall arch and tone used put me off, unfortunately.
February 15, 2024
Poems mostly incomprehensible to me. Clearly other reviewers enjoyed them, so maybe I just didn't "get it", but there were sections that I could be genuinely convinced were randomly generated. I'm not a poetry buff, so though I wish I could provide more specific and meaningful critique (e.g. what worked, what didn't, what I would have liked to see different), I'll confess I am unable!
The prose sections were, uh, distressing. It's clear that the author has experienced a lot of trauma and, it seems to me, isn't coping especially well, not least of all because of the pica... (sorry, I'm aware that was reductive). I don't want you to think this is coming from a place of prejudice; for what it's worth, I'm queer and trans and was brought up in pagan circles with ritual magic, so it's not that this is all too foreign to me. But lowkey if I saw CAConrad doing a ritual in the street I would avoid them. Hearing the kinds of stuff they have done in public activates my urge to go into damage control mode.
The prose sections were, uh, distressing. It's clear that the author has experienced a lot of trauma and, it seems to me, isn't coping especially well, not least of all because of the pica... (sorry, I'm aware that was reductive). I don't want you to think this is coming from a place of prejudice; for what it's worth, I'm queer and trans and was brought up in pagan circles with ritual magic, so it's not that this is all too foreign to me. But lowkey if I saw CAConrad doing a ritual in the street I would avoid them. Hearing the kinds of stuff they have done in public activates my urge to go into damage control mode.
March 18, 2018
“(Soma)tic poetry rituals provide a window into the creative viability of everything around us, initiating an extreme present” says CAConrad in “Hall of the Decommissioned Pantheon,” one of eighteen rituals included in his latest book from Wave, While Standing in Line for Death. Conrad later states in the final ritual of the book, “Cremation Cocktail,” that “Poetry is a window into the magic of this world that never once asked me to apologize.” The unapologetic and the extreme present are married fulfillments discoverable again and again in this marvelous next chapter of the Philadelphian. The works are as extensible from all previous works, as they are wholly original, blossoming beings unto themselves.
Complete review is at Yellow Rabbits: http://yellowrabbits.weebly.com/revie...
Complete review is at Yellow Rabbits: http://yellowrabbits.weebly.com/revie...
November 2, 2019
i really liked the way anger, grief, hope, and love were all tethered together throughout the collection
fave poem: There Is No Prison Named Love
i'm gonna cheat and do a fave line of prose and a fave line of poetry
poetry: "few things tire me more than / imagining / reincarnation / a child / struggling / all over again to / not favor war / not surrender to greed" (from one of the poems in "Sharking of the Birdcage")
prose: "This crystal had been on him every day for over a year doing what crystals do, receive and store information. His breath and laughter, planting seeds in the dirt, his lips on mine, the way he tasted different in sunlight with snow, his inimitable warmth stored in the crystal's chambers. It was a little library of the man I loved" (from Mount Monadnock Transmission)
fave poem: There Is No Prison Named Love
i'm gonna cheat and do a fave line of prose and a fave line of poetry
poetry: "few things tire me more than / imagining / reincarnation / a child / struggling / all over again to / not favor war / not surrender to greed" (from one of the poems in "Sharking of the Birdcage")
prose: "This crystal had been on him every day for over a year doing what crystals do, receive and store information. His breath and laughter, planting seeds in the dirt, his lips on mine, the way he tasted different in sunlight with snow, his inimitable warmth stored in the crystal's chambers. It was a little library of the man I loved" (from Mount Monadnock Transmission)
December 17, 2019
"i took notes for the poem" while reading this. how rare to read poems alongside snippets of nonfiction, to truly understand the process. especially a process like this ~ the rituals include swallowing crystals, blowing queer bubbles at kids, visiting monkeys at the zoo and visiting poets at their graves. i enjoyed these sections very much. i wish forms comingled like this more often. CA's voice is a voice that i cherish. i listened to them talk about these rituals on Rachel Zucker's podcast, and it was extremely important for me. it's so valuable to have poet role-models who will make poems forever, all their lives, and who will help us make our own recipes for grief and healing. heal yourself, heal the world <3
December 4, 2022
Poets in need of learning how to live poetry should look no further than this book. The best part of these poems are the rituals and documentation of them that precedes the poems. Take for example, writing over 1,500 poems over the course of 18 years and then making a stack of them, placing a crystal on them and then lighting them on fire. Then eat the crystal and mix the ashes with jasmine and put them in a bath. Bath in them and swallow some of it and rub it into your body. Take notes on the experience and then use the notes to write a new poem.
Blamo!
Do I have the courage to do any such ritual to enhance my poetry praxis? I’m closer to it having read this book.
Blamo!
Do I have the courage to do any such ritual to enhance my poetry praxis? I’m closer to it having read this book.
December 1, 2023
I love this book. This was my first time reading CA Conrad, and I greatly enjoyed their work. I understand why Conrad is regarded as one of the best, but most overlooked, living poets of today. Conrad captures the difficulties and nuances of trying to live and love under capitalism and its’ many complications. The format of the book, rituals written in prose followed by the resulting poem, was so unique and worked very well. I found myself rereading many of the poems, especially for their sound quality. I feel lighter and more understood after reading. I am looking forward to diving into Conrad’s body of work after this read!
March 28, 2018
CA Conrad is one of my favorite poets writing currently. I feel like a better human being after reading a CA Conrad collection. There is something so indescribable about his work. Every word he writes is imbued with his unique sincerity and authenticity, it's really amazing to read. Conrad continues with the format used in Ecodeviance, instructions for a ritual and the resulting notes are edited to be a poem. His instructions to recreate the ritual, though not in verse, are often as poetic as the poems. Conrad writes beautifully about the dangers of today's war mongering and capitalism.
November 1, 2017
While Standing in Line for Death is very transparent about its process.
Preceding certain poems, the speaker makes eye contact with the reader & speaks about speaking.
The book includes links to multimedia, readings of poems & videos documenting where CA Conrad was when inspiration struck him.
To read the more in-depth review visit
https://biasedbiographer.wordpress.co...
Preceding certain poems, the speaker makes eye contact with the reader & speaks about speaking.
The book includes links to multimedia, readings of poems & videos documenting where CA Conrad was when inspiration struck him.
To read the more in-depth review visit
https://biasedbiographer.wordpress.co...
June 2, 2018
CA Conrad writes spells that take the world we have and the world we need and reaches through one to the other and back. There is a lot of fury in these poems, but it's the kind of fury that helps you see clearly, and that makes you feel oddly better after reading it. These poems are so serious and funny and odd and wise they make me feel like the human species is not a lost cause.
November 8, 2018
This is a rare rare work of literary genius. It made me feel brave and bold and I read with enthusiasm to catch more beauty, more courage.
For some, I suspect the rituals will seem eccentric. They seem punk rock to me. They seem not what is prescribed as poetry writing and the poems that come from them are a testament to a love of poetry as strong as I've ever seen.
For some, I suspect the rituals will seem eccentric. They seem punk rock to me. They seem not what is prescribed as poetry writing and the poems that come from them are a testament to a love of poetry as strong as I've ever seen.
December 21, 2018
This is my first time reading anything from CAConrad. Some of the poems he really blew me away, and I especially enjoyed the prose sections. Some of the poems were really Not For Me. It was a mixed bag, but ultimately more good than bad. The good was powerful, thoughtful, and moving.
I think I would have to know this would suit an individual before recommending it to them.
I think I would have to know this would suit an individual before recommending it to them.
July 5, 2019
unnerving, almost too personal and intimate to read, to listen in on, look in on this grieving ritual. Pulled in then to not the ultimate intimacy (which is unreachable?)only into almost intimacy? the political.
These poems speak to such sadness and rage and channel them into an incredible experience of empathy and politics, religion? A book burned into me-
These poems speak to such sadness and rage and channel them into an incredible experience of empathy and politics, religion? A book burned into me-
April 28, 2023
The rituals and the poetry that follows them in this book are as exquisite as CAConrad is as a human. Poetry is not limited to left margins or any structure at all. Poetry is an urge, a notion, a fever dream that is received and put on a page in conversation with it. If this work doesn't resonate with you, you aren't part of that conversation (and that is fine too).
August 28, 2023
CA Conrad did it again. So moving and insightful into the nature of almost all things. Particularly a fan of “I Feel So Lonely When You Touch Me”, “My Faggot Blood on His Fist”, “Check Your Dark Traffic”, “Bug I Love You”, “There Is No Prison Named Love”, and the incredibly devastating “Sharking the Birdcage” series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews