Theory of the Loser Class

There's so much to love about the latest installation of Jon Paul Fiorentino's exploration of the loser. I love this project. How infinitely refreshing. So much of our energy spent polishing, posing, projecting confidence and perfectability...not that the book isn't coiffed and polished, but its articulation of our anxiety, with the stranglehold of form and the rigid thinking that accompanies it, is immensely pleasing. I leave you with a poem:

RIGHT IN THE SPINE

Crooning Gertrude Stein's songs
but sounding shallow, somehow

Arrived in style but
can't get off your bike

Time to slash prices
on the Paxil and shovels

I've listened intently (almost)
to the revisionist chorus:

If a loser falls
I feel it

And if a loser falls
I feel it

from The Theory of the Loser Class, Jon Paul Fiorentino, Coach House, 2006