The collection features psychologically rich poems that blend expressionist and surrealist elements, creating a vivid tapestry of imagery and rhythm. With a diverse array of forms including travel poems, portraits, dramatic monologues, and epistolary pieces, it offers a multifaceted exploration of human experience. Readers will find themselves gratified and enriched by the depth and versatility of the writing.
"In 2019, Barbara Millicent Roberts, aka, Barbie will turn 60. Plastic's Republic is a poem-sequence centering on this deathless, cultural icon. The poems in Plastic's Republic began in 2010, following Barbie's well-publicized, 50th birthday in 2009. I view Barbie as a complex cultural figure and as a feminist bête-noir. The collection includes poems written in the voice of the central personalities in Barbie's development and mammoth success, including Ruth Handler who co-founded Mattel with her husband; their daughter Barbara--the doll's inspiration and namesake; and Barbie, herself. Another section titled "Plastications" features poems about Barbie versions that reflect Mattel's opportunistic, marketing response to social trends. Poems on the "Human Barbie" phenomenon treat Barbie-obsessed women who use physical and digital plastic surgery to achieve "dollification.""--