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Would it be possible to compose a book that appears to be “about” its author, but is indirectly about something else, like identity or relationships or language? Maybe a book not written by a hero… but by many?
This was the challenge taken up by Kevin McPherson Eckhoff in his fourth book, their biography: an organism of relationships. This collaborative memoir collages together word-portraits from friends, family, coworkers, strangers, robots, and even adversaries in order to create a silhouette of not a single person, but of the manacles that connect people to one another.
their biography is meant to make people think–it’s broad array of voices and poetic/prosaic forms disturbs comfortable patterns of reading, and its subject is as much about the contributors as the author. Eclectic and desolate, confessional and dubious, this record of relationships defies authorship, biography, and individualism.
Fans of Gregory Betts’s “Facebook Poem Project” or Rachel Zolf’s Tolerance Project, along with anyone compelled by contemporary poetry and conceptual art, will connect with this pixelated investigation into identity, and the true meaning of ‘self’ as we and others define it.
On Our Radar: a monthly series featuring books with buzz worth sharing—49th Shelf
“Kevin McPherson Eckhoff’s latest book combines a radical form of self-effacing honesty with an even more radical form of self-criticism.”—Broken Pencil
“It might be the best autobiography not written by its subject, and it’s certainly the funniest.” —This Magazine
“Their Biography is a collage of kevins as described by friends, family, co-workers, strangers, robots, and even adversaries. The result is not simply a construction of kevin mcpherson eckhoff, but of the bonds that tie people together.”—Contemporary Verse 2
“It’s a hilarious, melodramatic interpretation of the idea we have no essential self, but that our personality shifts depending on the day and social context. Where is the “real” eckhoff inside of all of this? Their Biography suggests the self is a comedy of errors, but the stage rather than the play.”—The Winnipeg Free Press
“This is a highly entertaining and imaginative book, and after a while, it might no longer matter if this character is real, or has anything to do with the the author himself.”—rob mclennan’s blog
“Their Biography becomes a puzzle entirely separate from Eckhoff. The work becomes a version of Kevin, even though it is supposed to be entirely about him. It’s like putting together a puzzle of a photo of a city skyline. As the pieces come together, the city is represented, but also the photograph that was originally taken becomes an interactive work outside of the landscape it portrays.”—Les Figues Press
“It’s wide-ranging and it roams, but it’s also incredibly playful, and the experience of reading it is fun even when it’s frustrating. Eckhoff isn’t bludgeoning readers with a thesis, nor is he asking us to swallow a sea of ideas and words. He’s just examining – and messing around with – our ideas about what a self is.”—The Globe and Mail
“Trace the boundaries of relationships through the many exits and entrances between one’s self/ves and others. Trace amounts amount… Their Biography leaks into our own simply by reading it.”—Poetxt
“Eckhoff’s “organism of relationships” is visually defamiliarizing, playful, laugh-out-loud funny. The most effective lesson in association since Saul Steinberg’s 16 October 1969 New Yorker cover.”—Atticus Review
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112 Pages
7.50in * 5.00in * .25in
115.00gr
.25lb
April 01, 2015
9781771660945
eng
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