Hi, i've had a teeny weeny interest in psychology for a looong time but never academically pursued it. I tried looking up psychology books but the ones i found were either old guys talking out of their ass or filled with jargon making it harder to understand. so are there any books that sort of stay in the middle, like they should be backed up by actual research while using easy-to-read language. or introductory texts i'd assume would make for a good start as well. throw some recommendations this way and thanks in advance!

also, would anyone like to buddy read these books? would probably be fun :)

Gah!!! This poem. This is another one of my absolute favorites. I'm a sucker for poems that are more prose-like. The two points that stand out the most to me in this one:

"[...] If you are going to be anything in the world tonight, you better be lightning. You better find something in you honest enough to strike them."

"There is no moral of this story---there is only light and sadness. There is no moral of this story. It's just a moment in my life where I did something wrong, and the earth, who has never not known what love is, held me anyway."

Potential discussion questions:

1. How is the structure of this poem different from those before? How does this reflect Gibson's feelings around the event?
2. How does this poem change your understanding of the title of the collection? How did you interpret it originally?
3. What would you do in this situation, if you were in Gibson's shoes? What might the existence of this poem say about the impact of this event on the author?

The satire in this poem is off the charts---it's fantastic. I always enjoy reading this one after the heavier pieces that come before it. I think it's great how Gibson can write about a serious subject in such a fun and lighthearted way. I always love reading "I will [...] sit naked on the photocopy machine so there are one hundred copies of my ass to kiss when I'm gone."

Potential discussion questions:

1. What do you think of the shift in tone with this poem? Do you appreciate it? Do you find it too different from the other poems read so far?
2. How did you interpret, in stanza 2, the addition of other people beside the narrator ("the young people")? (This brought me back to the queer youth poem and made me think about the motivation to better yourself that comes with realizing younger people look up to you.)
3. Why do you think the signature line is blank?

Well, in case you didn't notice, this piece is much shorter than the prior pieces! I personally really like when poets break up their collections like this. I think it is a useful tool to drive points/themes home.

Potential discussion questions:

1. Why do you think Gibson chose to keep this poem at 2 lines? What would be the advantages or disadvantages of making it a similar length to the beginning poems?
2. How does the title influence your interpretation of the poem? Would you interpret it differently if there was no title?
3. Gibson notoriously highlights resilience and survival in their poems; what purpose does this poem serve to those themes? (This ties in to question 1, I think.)

This is a tough read emotionally, no matter how many times you've read it before. Hugs for anyone who needs them🫂 I admire how Gibson can infuse their words with so much grit, determination, rebellion, and care. Their poems feel like they grab me by the throat; it takes such skill to create that feeling.

Potential discussion questions:

1. How do you feel after reading this one? Sad, hopeful, determined? How do you think the author wanted readers to feel?
2. Based off your answer to the question above, how do you think the author created that feeling? What word choices, structure choices, etc. contributed?
3. If you're comfortable sharing, what does this poem mean to you?

I like that, in this poem, Gibson changes up the stanza structure they'd been using for most prior poems. I think it lends to a feeling of time always changing, always shrinking, expanding, slowing down, speeding up. The first two stanzas are my favorite; they are the type of slightly abstract style that I really love in poetry:

"I've never known who Nick is. I show up just in the stranger of time, sift every grain of sand from the Pacific Coast into an hourglass that fits in my palm.

I turn the hourglass upside down and Vancouver trades places with San Diego. When they ask how I covered the wildfires in snow, I say I had time on my hands."

Potential discussion questions:

1. Which set of stanzas stood out to you the most? Why?
2. Up until now, Gibson has spoken fairly concretely---about real things, people, etc. This poem is slightly more abstract (some lines even whimsical): what did you think of this?