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Laura Yes Yes

How to Seduce a White Boy in Ten Easy Steps Paperback – March 15, 2011

by Laura Yes Yes (Author)

4.1 13 ratings

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This sultry, wry poetry book dazzles us with its bold exploration into the politics and metaphysics of identity.

From fierce and funny sexual fantasies to cutting observations of interracial dynamics, How to Seduce a White Boy in Ten Easy Steps asks us to fully consider what it is to be human in an age of fragmentation and double meanings. There are no easy answers here: the voice of the liberated woman rings clearly as a man-eater in one moment and shudders under the weight of lost love in the next. Laura Yes Yes skillfully navigates the trauma of being the Other while acknowledging the absurdity of our perceptions of race. With precise craft and breathtaking imagery, How to Seduce a White Boy blooms as a ferocious celebration of life.

Print length

120 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Write Bloody Publishing
Publication date

March 15, 2011
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.25 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1935904167
ISBN-13

978-1935904168
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Laura Yes Yes' work is a church tent revival in your belly, without all the fire and damnation.
She is bawdy, brilliant, and subversive in her wit." -- Sonya Renee Taylor, international award-winning poet and activist

"At a time when the formulaic is rewarded and the superficial revered, Laura Yes Yes is winning over audiences across the country the old-fashioned way- with hard writing, tireless editing, imaginative concepts, and uncompromisingly honest presentation."
-- Jared Paul, poet/musician/activist

About the Author

After decades of writing poetry and five years in the world of slam and spoken word, Laura has blossomed, earning a coveted Cave Canem fellowship and fourth place at PSI's Women of the World Poetry Slam. Laura also performs with Chicago's Speak'Easy Ensemble, the brainchild of slam founder Marc Smith. She is savvy, genuine, outspoken, and fearless.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Write Bloody Publishing (March 15, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 120 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1935904167
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1935904168
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.25 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,539,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,374 in Poetry Anthologies (Books)
- #23,144 in American Poetry (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 13 ratings

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About the author

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Laura Yes Yes

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Laura is an MFA candidate at Warren Wilson College. She is a Callaloo and Cave Canem fellow, assistant editor for Muzzle Magazine, and co-curator of Real Talk Live, Chicago's most raucous variety show. She tours internationally performing her poetry, and leading workshops on writing, performing, feminism, and empowerment. She has competed in many national competitions, notably as a finalist in 2010′s Women of the World Poetry Slam. Her first book, How to Seduce a White Boy in Ten Easy Steps, was nominated for a National Book Award by Write Bloody Publishing.

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4.1 out of 5

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S. Brown

A Must-Have Experience!

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2011

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I was reading this book one day pretentiously enough in a café (yes THAT one) and I was smiling when a woman approached me read the cover and asked what the book was about. Her look of bewildered interest was priceless, looking at me a 220lb black man reading a book entitled "How to Seduce a White Boy in Ten Easy Steps" I can't imagine what she must've been thinking. I explained that it was a book of poems and her expression changed immediately. Poetry. Poetry to most equates to boring, esoteric, musings that make most glad they saw the last of it in High School. Now this is where I tell you this book is different.

THIS BOOK IS DIFFERENT!

Laura writes with thoughtfulness so as not to lose the reader in overblown language, but also with passion so to keep you reading. The subject matter is relevant and current, covering issues of, love, sex, rejection, politics and reflection. This the answers aren't always pretty, "Be nice to his family. Pretend not to notice the way their house smells. Pretend to like their food. Mimic their barbaric customs at the dinner table." Probably my favorite feature about this book is what I like to call "replay value"; that means every time I read it, I experience it differently. In the end you feel like you've experienced something, touched another soul. That's because you have.

8 people found this helpful

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well worth it

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2012

Verified Purchase

Laura Yes Yes is a phenomenal poet and organizer. That said, the book doesn't always play to her strengths. There are a good handful of poems in this book that get too caught up in their own imagery and lose sight of their point. (I'm biased, obviously. If you vibe to lush imagery and SAT-word-ornate language, you will feast on the poems that didn't do it for me.)

However, where she invents forms she absolutely knocks it out of the park. "Octopussy: The Playboy Interview" is just one of many zingy, sharp, smart poems that have as much content in their organization as in their text. These pieces raise the bar for every poet writing today and in years to come.

One person found this helpful

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Christopher R. Kerr

Wow!

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2013

Verified Purchase

I am so impressed. Laura Yes Yes is an original. The first few poems I read knocked my socks off. I immediately dialed up some of her performances. Even better. The title poem is a killer--sly, smart, funny, dead-on. Scary. I really liked A BOOKBINDER'S PECHA KUCHA for STARVING ARTISTS. And, I learned a phrase I had never heard, Pecha Kucha. This poem begs to be a wood-block or letter-press poster on bookseller's walls. Hats off to WRITE BLOODY, the publisher. Thank you for a book so happily prepared. I'm checking you out. Best regards, Chris

One person found this helpful

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Khary Jackson

Meet her now, before she's too famous to return your fan mail.

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2011

I consider it impressive that a poet I know very well has still managed to surprise me. Laura has long been known as a poet that tackles race and love and various other issues in a frank, original, often hilarious way. She's makes miscegenation funny as hell. She makes you wonder if your standards for sensuality (both sexual and non-sexual)were ever really high enough. But again, these are what she's been known for. What surprised me was the various ways she could slink into a story that I'd literally never thought of. "Octopussy: The Playboy Interview" is brilliantly choice, and deserves a shout out. My two favorites are "Domesticated Fish", which brings spirits and goldfish together in a way that makes me shake my head wondering why I hadn't written it. My other favorite is "Imaginary Instruments of the Year 3065." It's the perfect ending for the book, and (given how well I know her) about as hopeful of an ending as I could stand from her. I suggest you read that poem as slowly as you can, and actually try to hear the sounds from the instruments she's invented. Then ask if this is music you could live to in 3065. Who are you in 3065? What is left? This poem offers some hints, but we fill in the rest ourselves. Which is expected; this is a poem, after all.

One person found this helpful

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David Perez

A Surprising and Challenging Book that won't Disappoint

Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2011

Laura's book found its way into my life at a time of great woe. It was the summer of 2011. My business partner extorted my millions, my unicorn contracted a rare liver disease, and my girlfriend moved to the other side of the country.

"How to Seduce a White Boy" was, in a word, there for me. It dealt with love and loss in a way I had never encountered-- with a smart and cheeky charm. It funneled my vision into a new way of seeing. It was a re-imagination of what it means to be human, dependent on others, always in some inexplicable stage of embrace or departure, never alone. . .

Whimsical in its exploration of the undercover corners of the human condition, it did for me what the best poetry always has: it answered questions about myself I never new to ask.

As a result, I have regained my material wealth (and then some), my unicorn is the proud parent of a newborn chimera, and my lady still lives far away but we enjoy frequently and lengthy phone calls, full of longing and sweet sweet lies.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Thoughtful, incisive, enjoyable!

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2011

(Apologies if I sound super pretentious-- this is just the only way I know how to talk about poetry. Oops. Normal-human-cliffnotes-version: Yay! Smart, interesting poems that explore meaty material! From someone who doesn't think quite like the rest of us, but in the very, very best way.)

Often, one of two unfortunate scenarios comes up in poetry- either the author shies away from fraught issues of politics/gender/etc, focusing exclusively on the aesthetics of language, or on the other end of the spectrum, abandons craft and/or thoughtfulness in the quest to broadcast some serious, indignant message. In Laura Yes Yes's lovely book, the poet struggles through difficult topics by way of explicit engagement with the mechanics and history of her chosen form. She has a refreshing awareness of her context that she uses to dig deeply into her chosen material. By turns playful, incisive and heartbreakingly vulnerable, Yes Yes leads the reader on an engaging exploration of sexuality, race and, perhaps most excitingly, her own sinuous mind. Just lovely.

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How to Seduce a White Boy in Ten Easy Steps Paperback – March 15, 2011

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