ppooeet trryy -$ 5$ 5. 0. 00 0
Bo d y in a
“Min Jung Oh is a genius.”
- Bhanu Kapil, author of Schizophrene
monkeypuzzlepress.com
hydrophilic
F RA M E Min Jung Oh
Body in a hydrophilic Frame
Min Jung Oh monkey puzzle press boulder, colorado
copyright Š 2012 Min Jung Oh all rights reserved. no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief excerpts. printed in the united states of america.
cover & book design jordan antonucci cover photo bess marine author photo devin hutchison
ISBN-10: 0985170578 ISBN-13: 9780985170578 monkey puzzle press po box 20804 boulder, colorado 80308 monkeypuzzlepress.com
To Victoria Hart and Bhanu Kapil
1. BREAKDOWN : a) to become present, aware b) a process in which estrangement from self occurs c) the object’s reaction to continual staring by subjects
2
dear reader : what I mean by staring is staring like that I’m (not?) your newest monster
she wanted [ ] to bring you to terms neatly known and stated scattered with vaporous bubbles searing in their Perfect image but you fucker you smothered her angry [ ] with impermeable plastic i was a virgin does that change anything a trash bag closes over her head twisted wire you have an old soul you will never belong gasp for air
dwindle under rain each bounce against water’s surface sheds invisible layers
3
dear reader : we are guessing the entity of shadows palpable thick as mud-ruts smothered rubber wheels
[ ] drips off the roof ’s edge soaks the slimy wet leaves below
what creeps beneath parked cars its tail dragging slow through the papers and receipts branches and bits of foil scattered in the dirt a thumb smear on windows where trees fray at the trunk some inevitable next in the night
4
remnants of the blade : brown curls of bark brittle yellow feathers
on the surface of a finger-tip nerves tremble
5
dear reader : [
] to enter a path of manic turns grey space a tattered piece of shirt hangs from a cable line it speaks [ ] to open lips
she weeps he touches her shoulder she clicks out of text he tells her to be real she lights a cigarette he wants to know
what scratched a grid across her arms butter sizzles in a pan over red wires to punish enough is impossible :
6
substitute : tears for words symbol for marks
7
about the author
Min Jung Oh is a poet, essayist, body artist, waitress, and chatterbox. She received her BA from the University of Maine in 2009 and her MFA from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in 2011. Her work may be found in Sous les Paves , Matter Journal, Linchpin , TidalBasin Review, and Monkey Puzzle, among others. She dreams of a space where the broken, yet very much alive, body is allowed and loved to be, well: just that.
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ppooeet trryy -$ 5$ 5. 0. 00 0
Bo d y in a
“Min Jung Oh is a genius.”
- Bhanu Kapil, author of Schizophrene
monkeypuzzlepress.com
hydrophilic
F RA M E Min Jung Oh