a chain is a house to sleep in

by Deirdre Z. Camba

This poetry collection moves through contemporary consciousness—parasocial desire under climate catastrophe, guilt shaped by class awareness—always attentive to the position from which it speaks. Even amid millennial hustle culture, ecological collapse, and the long, exhausting pressure of the male gaze, Deirdre Z. Camba’s poetic conceit refuses diminishment.

Icons of desire and locality—figures like Mr. Pogi 1996—are tethered to Marikina’s histories of flooding, survival, and the spectacle of suffering. A Chain Is a House to Sleep In insists that attention, memory, and lyric invention remain viable forms of resistance. Across its lyrical arc, the reader is often led to assume that the “you” is an unnamed beloved; instead, the book reveals a more difficult attachment. The beloved here is modern life as a woman in Metro Manila—unromantic, relentless, and deeply intimate.

— Esquire Philippines

88 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2025

Reviews

[L.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

goosebumps

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars ⛓️‍💥🌸

pleased to announce that forking over my entire shopping budget for this one (1) book in that indie bookstore in makati was worth it...

it's really just vibes all around. maybe it's the fact that camba is filipino & grew up living through typhoons & witnessed girlhood and pop culture evolve over the years but this is the closest i've ever connected to a poetry collection.

my favourites have to be "poor tony hoagland", "minni di virgini", "hungry", "luli", "super hot ghost", "plain noodles", and "sewage as epilogue". each of these addressed topics that were personally relevant to me AND delivered in such a brutal yet tender manner.

also, the lines "sometimes i forget / that the sea is just another / collapsed cup" from the poem "submarining" also go hard.

[Raphael Coronel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Why would you write about this?" is a common question in a writer's workshop. If you have to ask what's Filipino about a childhood mixed with religious and pop iconography in a country that's vulnerable to the climate crisis, then I don't know what to tell you. But "Britney Spears implores you. Just as truly / as every great poet, / every weepy Anne in your /contemporary anthologies [...] where you might finally ache."

Deirdre's collection is perceptive as it is urgent. Whether you're "Asian Baby Girl as Total, Ecological Breakdown" or waiting to be saved by "Mr. Pogi 1996", there's a seat on a jetski for you. This is an important book with a distinct voice that asks you, "So what will you save?"

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Banger after banger. I wish I wrote this.