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ZZOO
ZZOO is a bestiary for the modern world!
At a time when binaristic and hierarchical relations are being readily interrogated, MA|DE — a unity of two voices fused into a single, poetic third — takes up a critique of the human-animal divide in their full-length debut, ZZOO.
From the depths of the oceans to the outer reaches of the sky, a menagerie of species trade off time in the limelight, none of them solely occupying the central space on the global stage. MA|DE’s collaborative practice foregrounds interdependence, outward focus, shared spaces and non-hierarchical thinking, all of which emerge allegorically in interzonal poems that are as richly realized as they are formally eclectic. This wild-blooded collection turns conventional exhibitionism on its head, treating humans and animals as equal subjects of art, science and selfhood.
A massive expansion of the bpNichol Award-shortlisted chapbook 'A Trip to the ZZOO' (Collusion, 2020), this full-length collection is a book in four parts: Land, Air, Sea and Elsewhere. The poems explore the boundaries between human and animal life within these four spheres, and the ways that humans and animals relate to one another in various, sometimes surprising, contexts.
The title’s variant spelling is a deliberate gesture, signalling to the reader that the poems only share a partial resemblance to the spectacle of animal exhibition at a traditional zoo. These poems venture into the territory of ecopoetics, with environmentally-conscious through-lines frequently appearing in the work.
At a time when binaristic and hierarchical relations are being readily interrogated, MA|DE — a unity of two voices fused into a single, poetic third — takes up a critique of the human-animal divide in their full-length debut, ZZOO.
From the depths of the oceans to the outer reaches of the sky, a menagerie of species trade off time in the limelight, none of them solely occupying the central space on the global stage. MA|DE’s collaborative practice foregrounds interdependence, outward focus, shared spaces and non-hierarchical thinking, all of which emerge allegorically in interzonal poems that are as richly realized as they are formally eclectic. This wild-blooded collection turns conventional exhibitionism on its head, treating humans and animals as equal subjects of art, science and selfhood.
A massive expansion of the bpNichol Award-shortlisted chapbook 'A Trip to the ZZOO' (Collusion, 2020), this full-length collection is a book in four parts: Land, Air, Sea and Elsewhere. The poems explore the boundaries between human and animal life within these four spheres, and the ways that humans and animals relate to one another in various, sometimes surprising, contexts.
The title’s variant spelling is a deliberate gesture, signalling to the reader that the poems only share a partial resemblance to the spectacle of animal exhibition at a traditional zoo. These poems venture into the territory of ecopoetics, with environmentally-conscious through-lines frequently appearing in the work.
124 pages, Paperback
Published February 15, 2025
About the author
MA|DE
1 book2 followersMA|DE (est. 2018) is a collaborative writing entity, a unity of two voices fused into a single, poetic third. It is the name given to the joint authorship of Mark Laliberte and Jade Wallace — artists whose active solo practices, while differing radically, serve to complement one another. MA|DE's writing has appeared in literary journals including The Ex-Puritan, Augur, and PRISM International, and 4 chapbooks, including the bpNichol Award-shortlisted A Trip to the ZZOO from Collusion Books. MA|DE's debut full-length poetry collection, ZZOO (released with 5 variant animal-themed covers), is out now from Palimpsest Press and their follow-up, Detourism, is forthcoming in 2028. More info — ma-de.ca
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 17, 2025
Really enjoyed the poems in this.
Review upcoming in issue No. 8 of The Ampersand Review.
Review upcoming in issue No. 8 of The Ampersand Review.
May 5, 2025
The animal-infused poems in MA|DE’s new collection ZZOO embrace with their evocative language and soft wordplay. Read them aloud. No, seriously, do it. Let them absorb you into themselves. You’ll be better for it.
July 17, 2025
ZZOO features poems about animals (including humans). For me, the most poignant poem was "The Extended Mourning of Orca J35." I was conducting research about animals that mourn their dead when I came across an article on J35, an orca who carried her deceased calf for 17 days and over 1,000 miles, as an act of grief. Reading about J35 in a poem was quite an emotional experience. BTW, after ZZOO was published, J35 was seen carrying another deceased calf.
October 2, 2025
Reading this book of poems and the notes at the end was like spending an afternoon with an encyclopedia set, or a box of vintage postcards, or wandering through a museum. Every page holds something obscure, enigmatic, and beautiful, the language iridescent and agile as dragonflies.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews