THE STUNTMAN
© 2014, Text by Brian Laidlaw
© 2014, Cover art by Mary Austin Speaker with vector by Natykach Nataliia, used under shutterstock.com license All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415. (800) 520-6455
Published 2014 by Milkweed Editions
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker
Author photo by Colin Kopp
15 16 17 18 19 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Jerome Foundation; the Lindquist & Vennum Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. Also, this activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota. For a full listing of Milkweed Editions supporters, please visit www.milkweed.org.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Laidlaw, Brian, 1983-
[Poems. Selections]
The stuntman : poems / Brian Laidlaw.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-57131-464-2 (paperback)
I. Title.
PS3612.A397A6 2015
811’.6--dc23
2014033907
CIP
Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. The Stuntman was printed on acid-free 30% postconsumer-waste paper by Versa Press.
To A.B.C. Finch
THE STUNTMAN
1 I.
7 [Home of the Standstill Parade]
8 [Tract House Jingle]
9 [Upstate Mothers’ Refrain]
10 [Spurring]
11 [Terrarium Letter #1]
12 [The Cartographer Cries into His Knapsack]
1 II.
1 [Narcissus the Stuntman]
2 [Terrarium Letter #2]
3 [If I Had a Rock]
4 [Altitude Sickness]
5 [Crop Circles]
6 [Telegram]
7 [Forest Fire Song]
8 [Altitude Wellness]
9 [Terrarium Letter #3]
10 [Male Anatomy]
11 [Mill Fire Song]
12 [Terrarium Letter #4]
13 [Courtesy Call]
14 [Telegram]
1 III.
1 [Narcissus the Anarchist]
2 [Brain Drain]
3 [Bad Language]
4 [Terrarium Letter #5]
5 [Notes for a Song Called “All It Takes”]
6 [If We Dig Up the Overworld]
1 IV.
1 [Narcissus the Paperwhite]
2 [Terrarium Letter #6]
3 [Notes Upon Completion of a Record]
4 [Telegram]
5 [Terrarium Letter #7]
6 [The Dive at the End of the World]
7 [Notes for a Song Called “The Drift”]
8 [Pastimes]
9 [Terrarium Letter #8]