The Stuntman: Poems

By Brian Laidlaw

Musings on the modern epidemic of narcissism in “deadpan, witty poems that flash with plangent images and macabre moments” (Minneapolis Star Tribune).

“THE EARTH BROKE OPEN CAUSE WE BROKE IT OPEN,” blares the first line of this enrapturing debut collection mapping the myth of Narcissus and Echo and the Iron Range roots of Bob Dylan onto a world growing increasingly self-obsessed. Against the backdrop of the mining town of Hibbing, Minnesota, Brian Laidlaw examines the ways narcissism has flooded culture. Much like a “hawk has a horizontal sweet spot on its retina / for spotting prey on the prairie,” the speaker of these poems “has a narcissus / shaped sweet spot / all the better to spot himself.”

The volume comes combined with a brand new LP from Laidlaw produced by Brett Bullion, co-arranged by Hibbing native Danny Vitali, and featuring members of The Pines and Halloween, Alaska. Expanding on the themes addressed in The Stuntman, the album provides listeners an innovative multimedia experience.

“[A] gorgeous debut.” —Chris Martin

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Apr 14, 2015
• ISBN: 9781571319104

Book preview

[Telegram]

THE EARTH BROKE OPEN CAUSE WE BROKE IT OPEN, FIRE CAME OUT IN THE FORM OF AIR

EARTH IN THE FORM OF FIRE WAS OPENING MOUTHS, A BYSTANDER TURNED INTO A TREE, WITH SHOCK I SHOOK IT

I WANTED TO STUPEFY EARTH WITH MY FINESSE, LAY IT OUT ON MY BLANKET & FEED IT GRAPES

I.

[Narcissus the Debutante]

newcomer grows in, killing familiarity

the wealthy scramble to incorporate

he attends their dinners

like demons they need new bodies

downlooker comes to town, comes to their parties

they think him shy

no, he knows there’s no such thing as eye contact

the wolf has a horizontal sweet spot on its retina

for spotting prey on the prairie

the stranger has a narcissus

shaped sweet spot

all the better to spot himself

here is his typewriter retina,

he swaggers from ocular to