Monsters, Zombies, and Addicts: Poems

Zepeda (Falling in Love with Fellow Prisoners), poet paureate of Houston and novelist, explores gender, motherhood, the complexities of immigrant families, and an artist%E2%80%99s alienation in contemporary capitalism through these simple, raw, and humorous narratives. Candid about her alienation from mainstream culture, Zepeda admits, "Maybe I am a boy in drag. Especially here, where I don%E2%80%99t feel like everybody else. I don%E2%80%99t want to be the best secretary, or even the prettiest one." She contextualizes her independent spirit, telling stories of those around her, such as her Aunt Sylvia, who have supported it: "On Friday nights, when there was nothing else to do, she used to tell me, %E2%80%98Go get the keys from your daddy. Let%E2%80%99s see the Freak Show.%E2%80%99%E2%80%8A" There are moments when the poet strays from her main themes, and these are her weakest. Yet what comes across in the work as a whole is the power Zepeda derives from her "other" status as a person of color, a woman, and a poet: "The bravest thing is/ daring to think/ ...that you might not be/ a dog in a yard/ dumb drooling and flea bit,/ blocked by fences that/ no one else can see." (Apr.)