Delet This

by MLA Chernoff

MLA Chernoff's debut collection, delet this, is a fun, volatile and disarming exhibition of satire, internet culture, flarf, memes, and dreams. The collection balances lighthearted silliness with social criticism, putting emojis in close quarters with academic theory and giving tweets equal gravity to tomes. You’ll find bewildered normies, Mark Zuckerberg, Super Soakers, philosophers driving giant anime robots and the name “Derrida” typed 70 times.

Is it a trick? A trap? Is MLA laughing with you or at you? Are you sure? Who knows. Who cares. Delet this.

"delet this, poetry as death load, the lyric-cum-digital, flesh of our flesh, transubstantiated as any visual reference. Irreverent and it cuts even deeper. Look upon their work, ye Memed, and laugh, weep. MLA is pure and absolute brilliance."
–Liz Howard, author of Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent

“Equal parts frenetic ode and fearless critique, delet this considers memes, CanLit, g-d and pop culture with the associative range of a Gogurt-fuelled fever dream.”
–Cassidy McFadzean, author of Hacker Packer

Genres: Poetry

60 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2018

About the author

MLA Chernoff is a Toronto-based poet, performance artist, meme enthusiast, and recovering academic. Their debut full-length poetry collection, [SQUELCH PROCEDURES], was released by Gordon Hill Press in 2021. MLA is also the author of several chapbooks, including delet this (Bad Books, 2018), TERSE THIRSTY (Gap Riot Press, 2019), and I'M LIKE THE GREAT GRANDCHILD OF MARX & COCA-COLA (BUT NON-BINEY) (845 Press, 2022). They worked really hard on their website – mlachernoff.com – so please go and check it out right now, right this second. Thanks! Stay safe and keep masking xo xo

Reviews

[jo ianni]

DADDY ZUCKS DOESN'T WANT YOU TO EAT THIS BOOK M'FRIENDOS BUT METHINKS YOU SHOULD DO IT FOR A HEARTY CHUCKLEROOO

[b · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verging on virtuosic! Probably not sentimental enough or relatable enough for older poetry fans, and maybe my only complaint comes from that same space, where too many of the actual feels get deferred (flarfed?) for the sake of the gags. Actual cackles at the comic sans, and lots of laughs at the general wit. I like the maximal flex and the momentum and the surprises, and what I need (like just a little bit of ‘proof’ of sincerity now and then) would probably be easier to achieve in a longer collection. I recommend this if yr under 40, have ever used the internet, or have ever been called arrogant by yr critical theory lit prof.