Museum of Accidents [Paperback]

Rachel Zucker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009

"Rachel Zucker may be Generation X's likeliest heir to the confessional legacy of Sylvia Plath, Louise Glück, and Sharon Olds."—The Believer

Rending the terrorizing forces of modern existence from abstraction and placing them directly in our laps, Museum of Accidents is a brutally honest epic of domestic proportions.

Rachel Zucker is the author of three collections of poetry and co-editor of Women Poets on Mentorship: Efforts and Affections. A graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, she currently lives in New York City with her husband and three sons, where she is a certified labor doula.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. This forth collection of poems by Zucker (The Bad Wife Handbook) furthers her project to portray the dark underside of marriage and parenthood in 16 mostly long poems that are as formally wild as they are self-conscious and emotionally searing. Zucker's subject is not an unhappy marriage, but an average one, which, she wants to make clear, is full of as much pain, fear, lust and hopelessness as the fabled unions of some of her confessional forebears. There is happiness, too, but that's not the province of this book, in which romance can be reduced to a formula (Thursday: we have sex (husband and I) lights on), and a poem recounts how an audience member at a poetry reading says, after hearing the author read about her young son, Someday, he'll grow up and read that and you'll pay. In another, a fellow poet advises the next time you feel yourself going dark/ in a poem, just don't, and see what happens, yielding one of the oddest happy poems around. Zucker's willingness to put her own pain on display may frighten or even disgust some readers, but most will be grateful to find themselves less alone in their own everyday suffering. This is a book for all who seek what Zucker calls the antidote for despair, however elusive it may be. (Oct.)
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About the Author

Rachel Zucker is the author of three collections of poetry and co-editor of Women Poets on Mentorship: Efforts and Affections. A graduate of Yale and the Iowa Writer's Workshop, Zucker has taught at several institutions, including NYU and Yale. She currently lives in NYC with her husband and three sons, and is a certified labor doula.

Product Details

• Paperback: 82 pages
• Publisher: Wave Books; First Edition edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933517425
• ISBN-13: 978-1933517421
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #303,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book of Poetry October 11, 2011

By M. Tretin

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love this book. the poems are funny, touching and deep. The poem, "Paying Down the Debt: Happiness" is hilarious. If you ever had to spend time with a sick child, this poem will reflect all your feelings, including all those tricky feelings that are hard to put into words. The poem, "Welcome to the Blighted Ovum Support Group" is moving, but has a brave and light touch that heightens the sad feeling underneath. This book is the sort of book that will move you over and over and will make you laugh even if you are going through tough times. Buy it.