I Must Be Living Twice: New and Selected Poems 1975 - 2014

A collection of thrilling verse, including both new poems and beloved favorites, from the celebrated poet, modern cult icon, and author of Chelsea Girls. Eileen Myles' work is known for its blend of reality and fiction, the sublime and the ephemeral. Her work opens readers to astonishing new considerations of familiar places, like the East Village in her iconic Chelsea Girls, and invites them into lush--and sometimes horrid--dream worlds, imbuing the landscapes of her writing with the vividness and energy of fantasy. I Must Be Living Twice brings together selections from the poet's previous work with a set of bold new poems that reflect her sardonic, unapologetic, and fiercely intellectual literary voice. Steeped in the culture of New York City, Myles' milieu, I Must Be Living Twice is a prism refracting a radical world and a compelling life.

About the Author :
Eileen Myles (they/them, b. 1949) is a poet, novelist, and art journalist whose practice of vernacular first-person writing has made them one of the most recognized writers of their generation. Pathetic Literature, which they edited, came out in fall 2022. a "Working Life," their newest collection of poems, is out now. They live in New York and Marfa, TX.

Review :
"Read this, Eileen is epic!" -- Kim Gordon "Heroic, monolithic, pure." -- Alice Notely "As lead adds luster to crystal, plain talk insures the strength and transparency of poetry. That would explain why this large selection of Eileen Myles's poetry feels so breathtakingly engaging, like a gasp of fresh air in the turbulent urban environment she writes from. Once again, she shows how there's no substitute for telling it like it is." -- John Ashbery "It is a rare thing when someone so cool is also so warm. Eileen Myles's essential poetry is the hip kid leaning against their locker secretly burning with intensity, the smartest boy in the class who doesn't care he has a scar down his face, the thing you just wish you'd said." -- Lena Dunham "Myles is a big deal, a rock star, sort of like the Patti Smith of contemporary poetry. . . . Myles is relentlessly casual, and even joyful. She has a good time journeying through Hell, and like a hip Virgil, she's happy to show us the way." -- NPR.org "Myles has long been a steady presence on the New York poetry scene...With the publication of this new and selected volume, which covers her 40-year career, she has become the toast of the town and the poetry world at-large." -- Publishers Weekly "Her work is hard to describe, best encountered on its own terms; suffice to say it combines frankness and beauty in a truly original way." -- The Guardian