Injecting Dreams Into Cows

by Jessy Randall

Jessy Randall’s poems are smart, funny, weird, and friendly. She writes about robots, love, friendship, video games, Muppets, motherhood, Pippi Longstocking, and the peculiar seductiveness of old Fisher Price wooden people on Ebay. She’s partial to found poems, prose poems, and short poems—bite-sized mouthfuls of surprising lyricism. Sometimes sexy, often hilarious, strange and yet familiar, the poems in Injecting Dreams into Cows will leave you “gasping with delight and deliciousness.”

Genres: Poetry

104 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jessy Randall because she makes me laugh and because everything she says is true, whether it's about children, marriage, libraries or games. I know it because I've felt the same way, as for instance, in "Celie at 4," in which the poet's child is like the cool girl at school rolling her eyes, and mother becomes the younger sister hoping to be liked. Or because I also know someone like the subject of "One Day, the Ass-Talker Stopped Talking Out of His Ass."

With some poems I get the feeling the poet starts the poem and just sees where it goes, and ends up with something surprising even to herself.

There are two found poems in this volume that I like a lot, especially "I Am Boarding You At This Time," and the list poem "Babies Should."

This page from Jessy Randall's personal site has some sample poems:
http://personalwebs.coloradocollege.e...

I recommend this book to anyone who thinks poetry is dull, overwrought or difficult to relate to.

[Amorak Huey · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title suggests, this is a collection full of whimsy, of delight, of discovery. Fun, in other words. The voice here is engaging and pleasant -- these are poems you'd like to hang out with at the coffee ship, snarking on the other customers, but sweetly, never in a mean-spirited way.

From "Rich People's Umbrellas": "This makes me want to take all the umbrellas / and stick them up the rich people's / umbrellas."

These poems breathe in the same air we breathe, walk the same sidewalks we walk in 2013 -- they are full of pop culture. The Muppets are here, and Ms. Pac-Man, and Velcro and McDonald's, in the same way that these things inhabit our lives: they are not not forced into the poems; they merely exist in these lines as they do in the world.

There is gentle wisdom throughout the collection. The poems are mostly short, the language mostly straightforward but always smart.

Among the highlights for me, the found poems "Ballerinas Do Not Fall on the Floor" and "I Am Boarding You at This Time." "Robot Listening to Music" is another favorite, as is "The Seductiveness of the Memory Hole," which closes with these lines: "... even you yourself / will forget it. / We have done it already. / We are doing it right now."

This collection is sneaky memorable. It does not try to dazzle with its flourishes, but it draws you in nonetheless, offers you a new perspective that you cannot help but adopt as your own.

As a final example, I offer these lines from "Tape": "If you crumple up a roll of tape / you end up with a ball much bigger / than the original object."

[Dayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some absolute home runs in this collection. Randall's simplicity reminds me of Collins, and the zany, non sequitur jumps make me think of Zapruder. I especially loved the parenting poems because I can relate to them. "The Usual Forever" will be one of my favorites for, well, ever.

[Becky Loader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few favorites: "The Library at Night," "The Consultant," and "Pippi Now."

Some of the humor was a bit sketchy for me.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This collection kept me laughing hard! I love humor in poetry, and this definitely hit the mark. She has a one-line poem that was so simple, yet so real. I was lucky enough to meet Jessy at a poetry reading, and she was so down to earth, just like her works. They flowed well with each other, voicing concerns about life in a humorous manner. I am really excited to begin another of her collections. :)

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have one word for Randall -- quirky. And funny. And fast-paced. Did I say tilted? Twisted? But sometimes she seems to have too much glitter and not enough depth. I feel a little bit like the librarian in "The Library at Night" coming back to the library after the books have all gone wild. I miss the exclamation points, the stutters of words. Randall does seem to be at her best when talking about relationships, kids, and -- yes -- the library. She is certainly a talent to watch.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m glad I read Injecting Dreams into Cows. These poems are not only whimsical and disjointed but also darkly humorous and illuminating in an uncanny way. Jessy Randall makes it look so easy!

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 100 page book is a fast and largely entertaining read. It's fast partly because many of the poems are short and they rarely reach for any sort of depth. I would call Randall more of a "to watch" poet rather than one presently in full form. I like when she sees the surreal and the absurd in the everyday. I've been wondering when more of the realities of contemporary life would work their way into the topics and language of poetry. It has certainly arrived with Jessy Randall, who mentions velcro, Googling, remotes, McDonalds, Pac-Man, the Muppets, Yoda, and a three-hole punch. I felt that she lived in my world as opposed to some highly abstract, learned, privileged one that some poetry seems to come from or perpetually refer to and/or take refuge in. Parents of young children will especially enjoy her poems about life with toddlers.

I gave this volume 3 stars because too many of the poems fell flat for me to rate it higher. But I'm keeping this book on my shelf as an example of humor and the commonplace in poetry. I've also become on of Randall's "fans" here on goodreads because I'm curious to see how she develops, particularly whether she'll delve more deeply both with surrealism and content, and also to see what she will turn her sense of humor to next. I expect motherhood will provide plenty of opportunities for more poems that are simply fun.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessy Randall is a girl after my own heart. Her poetry is about robots, muppets, monsters, dreams, video games, and motherhood. It's perfection parading around as paranoia. It makes you giggle, snort, hiccup, and gasp.

I stumbled across her collection just a few weeks ago while flipping through my twitter feed. Her Muppets Suite poem was linked through The Nervous Breakdown and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. The good news is... as awesome as this is.. there are poems within this collection that are even better. I know, how could that be possible, right?

Her approach to poetry is so refreshing. I'm betting she'd be a cool chick to hang out with. Go on and get this one. You're going to find so much to love here.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Standard caveat: I don't really understand poetry a lot of the time. But I think this is a book you can enjoy without being a poetry expert. The poems are clever and fun, mostly accessible, and quirky without being TOO quirky, on topics ranging from parenting to libraries to phone sex to the Muppets. Also, I met Jessy Randall and she's totally cool. So if you like words, I recommend giving this a shot.

[Kaye Lynne Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review of "Injecting Dreams into Cows", by Jessy Randall here:
http://kayelynnebooth.wordpress.com/2...