Their verse . . . is strikingly different. Michael's poems are interior,
fragmentary, and austere, often stripped down to single-word lines; they
seethe with incipient violence. Matthew's are effusive, ecstatic, and
all-embracing, spilling over with pop-cultural references and exuberant
carnality. --The New Yorker
Identical twins Michael and Matthew Dickman once invented their own
language. Now they have invented an exhilarating book of poem-plays
about the fifty states. Pointed, comic, and surreal, these one-page
vignettes feature unusual staging and an eclectic cast of
characters--landforms, lobsters, and historical figures including Duke
Ellington, Sacajawea, Judy Garland, and Kenneth Koch, the avant-garde
spirit informing this book introduced by playwright John Guare.
Lucky in Kansas
Judy Garland: This is always the worst part
Tin Man: The coming back
Judy Garland: Yes, it fucking sucks, it's depressing as shit
The Lion: Well, we're lucky to still be employed at this farm
Straw Man: I wouldn't call it lucky
The Lion: We were lucky to get back
Straw Man: That's not really lucky either I don't think you know what
lucky means
Judy Garland: It's funny what you miss
Tin Man: The running
Judy Garland: The flying
Tin Man: The flying monkeys
Judy Garland: The beautiful flying monkeys above the endless emeralds
the unbelievably green world
Michael Dickman and Matthew Dickman are identical twins who were
born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Michael received the 2010 James
Laughlin Award for his second collection Flies (Copper Canyon Press,
2011). Matthew won the prestigious APR/Honickman Award for his debut
volume, All-American Poem.
