Maged Zaher's latest collection Thank You for the Window Office was recently published by Brooklyn-based Ugly Duckling Presse.
Maged is from Cairo and is currently living in Seattle. This book consolidates his distinctive poetry and furthers his three earlier titles. There is a fresh, nearly-aphoristic tone. The lines give the impression of effortless arrangement. Maged uses just the right amounts of scepticism, enquiry, humour, politics, relational aesthetic, desire and reflection. The cover image is complicated. The poems embody a cultural critique that's open and modest even when it's very smart. Here are a few sample poems (random selections, not in sequence)-
Hello roller coaster
Hello soup du jour precious feelings
Here we do sales
There they do shopping
In the resurrection's parade
I took a different name
Which was an inevitable twist to the plot
Yet someone in the organization had to ask:
"Is people management an essential skill?"
The bohemian is still alive
:::
The poet at the soccer game
Reciting from Homer's Twitter feed
Tires everywhere
Piles of used Xboxes
The bearded folks surrounding the entrance
One of us will get to be the boss
And feel the joys of the class system
Monsters have a different value system
One will die of fear
And although the guru said nothing about jerking off
I will manage to wear green
And offend no one today
:::
They stare at blue lines
And sell media to everyone
Bikes are here to stay
Some agitation is needed
Because some poems are deeply Maoist
Mistrust goes a long way
I need to list all the patents we hold
Give me value or give me death
:::
You can find more praise, another sample,
and information about the book here
Read Los Angeles Times' Book Critic, David Ulin's review here
