GOOD MORNING AMERICA I AM HUNGRY AND ON FIRE

by jamie mortara

Poetry. LGBTQIA Studies. Trauma fills every room of the house. Mania lights that house on fire while Depression and Addiction sit and watch. jamie mortara's second collection, GOOD MORNING AMERICA I AM HUNGRY AND ON FIRE, emerges from a childhood strangle of toxic masculinity and an adulthood marked by failure to find love that might be safer. Mortara stands at the intersection of "traditional" cis queerness and their own non-binary transgender identity. In order to survive, they leave home behind, they walk into the woods to find a new nest, they learn to love the strange animal they always were.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Queer, Transgender

80 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2018

About the author

jamie mortara (they/them/their) is a queer poet, performer, publisher, organizer, and artist. They grew up in New Jersey and have learned to stop apologizing for it. jamie is author of the poetry collections GOOD MORNING AMERICA I AM HUNGRY AND ON FIRE (YesYes Books, 2018) and some planet (YesYes Books, 2015), and the interactive fiction collection small creatures / wide field (tNY Press). Three of their DIY zines are indie bestsellers and the others are likely scattered to the winds somewhere. jamie is founder of the audio poetry magazine Voicemail Poems, a National Poetry Slam competitor, and has performed their poetry in 29 states and counting. jamie holds an MFA from UNCW and is a proud Capricorn. More about jamie can be found at jamiemortara.comjamiemortara.com.

Reviews

[Lauren Dostal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy bag of exploding poetry, friends! This collection is fierce! From page 1, jamie mortara lays a land mine down at our feet and says, here. This is me. I will not be ignored or placated. HELLO AMERICA is a beautiful, energizing read from cover to cover.

Some poems from the collection which have been published (in somewhat modified form) online:

“Advice: For Dating a Gay Man While Transgender” on Dream Pop Press: http://www.dreampoppress.net/jamie-mo...

“New Jersey Poem” on Shabby Doll House: http://shabbydollhouse.com/New-Jersey...

“5 Ways of Throwing Something into the Boston Public Gardens Swan Pond” on Hobart Pulp: http://www.hobartpulp.com/web_feature...

Five very big, bright, burning stars for this beautiful book.

[roma · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think this collection rewired my brain chemistry

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooooo! There are some poems and lines in this collection that are going to bounce around in my head for a long, long time! The title really gives you an idea of the poems that lie ahead. mortara's poems are loud, confrontational, and emotional. Aka on brand, me, same, I liked them a lot. mortara puzzles over their queer life--love, parents, family, surviving. They often write in the 2nd person which kinda set me off initially but I grew to be drawn in. Here's some good shit: "I don't know what it's like//to eat a man alive// but i do remember// how it feels// to love one quietly" and "and yet queers like us// will climb mountains // jut for a glimpse // of something safe"

LIKE?

These poems are celebratory in their sadness, loud about their queerness, and providing no answers. Also, read mortar's zines. They are sooo good.

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

and here we are losing our cool again
this time in front of a t-rex skeleton
how did we both wind up so in love
with dead things?

always mourning a past
we can barely believe
and a future
we wont ever get to have
— from “the reason we are the two weirdos”

[Kadri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book in Powell's in Portland - remember how you used to wander around and let fate guide you to interesting finds? I remember it.

Which is how I found this book.

It says I've been reading it for over three years, and in a way I have - every now I pick it up to read something to myself and my friends. And it always hits me hard. And so I never read all of it - just because I didn't want it to be over.

I'm pretty sure I've read the poems in it many times over by now... but not certain. I hope I haven't, that I'll fall upon something new once more, that says across space and time: "Hi, I'm human too. I see you."

♥

[Neva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential non-binary poetry for growing up in America.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary and breathtaking

[Matt McBride · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not much I can say about what the author has to say that the title doesn't say better.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been meaning to read this for several months. Glad I finally did so!
Poetry is one of my favorite genres and I don't read enough of it to be honest.

[KJK]

these poems were so creative, funny, tender, and weird. i loved them.