Review: Evidence that We are Decended from Chairs

Evidence that We Are Descended from Chairs by Andrew Merton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a marvelous collection of poems. They are funny, and sad, and true. Some are surreal ("In the Year of the Platypus," for example); some deal with mental illness ("Bipolar" is a striking description of the condition); and several weave family into history in a way that is both strait forward and profound ("Smoke" and "May 12, 1944" both do this). Some of the poems, "White Baby" in particular, are a complete story in a page of verse. In "Why I Left the Poetry Reading Early" Merton says "Soon it took all my resolve / to keep from shouting 'Bravo' / after nearly every line;" I find myself having the same trouble.