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Dear Selection Committee
In the universe of Melissa Studdard's poems, both the speaker and the audience will always have their cake and eat it too. After all, "Life's never dull when your name's Melissa," and oh my goddess, does Dear Selection Committee serve hard as a brilliant 21st century take and critique of the epistolary, filled with infinite heart and infinite humor and infinite neon signs that point towards the larger-than-life nature of poetry. This is excess. This is extravagance. This is the definition of sensuality. Studdard has the tremendous gift of finding the center of every poem, giving us the whole damn thing. -Dorothy Chan
"I buried // everything they told me to bury. Then, I dug it up again," Melissa Studdard writes in Dear Selection Committee, an apt description of the work these poems do to unearth the incorrigible self and bury conventionality and its offspring, shame. The speaker revels in her largesse, claiming, in one poem's title, she's "Huge Like King Kong, Like Godzilla, Like Gulliver," and that the "world is my diorama of a world," and in another, that her honeymoon pictures are "the cover / of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass." All of this immensity, this grand unburying, is squeezed into the prosaic corseting structure of a job application, intensifying the split between tame and wild. Even her own birth is enacted with kinetic magnificence: "I broke the kingdom inside her, broke the gala / of horses straining to get out. I broke the dancehall // mirrors and even the gilded faucet handles. / I was a river that strong. Made for flooding." Indeed, these poems are so desirous and animated that they spilled over the edges of the page and into my thirsty soul. -Diane Seuss
The poems in Dear Selection Committee say what I've always wanted to say in a job application (and what I'm thinking as I perform the role of Normal Job Person) but never had the guts. Melissa Studdard's burn-it-down-radical honesty is elating af-exactly what I needed to read-but the poetic attentiveness, from the first page to the last, was the real thrill. At the heart of the cyclone, is a dependable, deepening pulse of self-preservation. -Jennifer L. Knox
Framed as a job application, and bounding with associative leaps and surrealist underpinnings, Dear Selection Committee is a subversive, sexy love song to an endlessly messy self and the burning world it inhabits. Full of apostrophic power, these poems shift among registers of loss, desire, and joy as they wrestle with issues such as climate change, addiction, modern distractions, gender presentation, religious questioning, and the nature of pain. Dear Selection Committee attests that although life can feel like a bumpy cab ride to interview for a job you feel uniquely unqualified for if you lay aside the anxieties of self just long enough to peer out the window, you'll see great beauty amidst the chaos. -Jackleg Press Website
"I buried // everything they told me to bury. Then, I dug it up again," Melissa Studdard writes in Dear Selection Committee, an apt description of the work these poems do to unearth the incorrigible self and bury conventionality and its offspring, shame. The speaker revels in her largesse, claiming, in one poem's title, she's "Huge Like King Kong, Like Godzilla, Like Gulliver," and that the "world is my diorama of a world," and in another, that her honeymoon pictures are "the cover / of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass." All of this immensity, this grand unburying, is squeezed into the prosaic corseting structure of a job application, intensifying the split between tame and wild. Even her own birth is enacted with kinetic magnificence: "I broke the kingdom inside her, broke the gala / of horses straining to get out. I broke the dancehall // mirrors and even the gilded faucet handles. / I was a river that strong. Made for flooding." Indeed, these poems are so desirous and animated that they spilled over the edges of the page and into my thirsty soul. -Diane Seuss
The poems in Dear Selection Committee say what I've always wanted to say in a job application (and what I'm thinking as I perform the role of Normal Job Person) but never had the guts. Melissa Studdard's burn-it-down-radical honesty is elating af-exactly what I needed to read-but the poetic attentiveness, from the first page to the last, was the real thrill. At the heart of the cyclone, is a dependable, deepening pulse of self-preservation. -Jennifer L. Knox
Framed as a job application, and bounding with associative leaps and surrealist underpinnings, Dear Selection Committee is a subversive, sexy love song to an endlessly messy self and the burning world it inhabits. Full of apostrophic power, these poems shift among registers of loss, desire, and joy as they wrestle with issues such as climate change, addiction, modern distractions, gender presentation, religious questioning, and the nature of pain. Dear Selection Committee attests that although life can feel like a bumpy cab ride to interview for a job you feel uniquely unqualified for if you lay aside the anxieties of self just long enough to peer out the window, you'll see great beauty amidst the chaos. -Jackleg Press Website
- GenresPoetryContemporary
132 pages, Paperback
Published May 17, 2022
3 people are currently reading
1837 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Studdard
14 books156 followersMelissa Studdard is the author of five books, including the poetry collections 'Dear Selection Committee' and 'I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast', the poetry chapbook 'Like a Bird with a Thousand Wings', and the young adult novel 'Six Weeks to Yehidah'.
Her work has been featured by NPR, PBS, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Houston Matters, and has also appeared in a wide variety of periodicals, such as POETRY, Kenyon Review, Psychology Today, New Ohio Review, Harvard Review, New England Review, and Poets & Writers.
A short film of the title poem from Studdard's 'I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast' (by Dan Sickles of Moxie Pictures for Motionpoems) was an official selection for the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival and the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, as well as winner of the REEL Poetry Festival Audience Choice Award.
Other poems of Studdard's have been made into car magnets, telepoem booth recordings, origami bouquets, and Houston City Banners and have won or placed in prizes such as The Lucille Medwick Memorial Award for a poem on a humanitarian theme from The Poetry Society of America, The Penn Review Poetry Prize, Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize from The Missouri Review, the Tom Howard Prize from Winning Writers, The Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Prize from Munster Literature Centre, and Aesthetica magazine Creative Writing Award.
Her book awards include the Forward National Literature Award, the International Book Award, the Kathak Literary Award, the Poiesis Award of Honor International, the Readers' Favorite Award, and two Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards. As well, her works have been listed in Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts' Best Books of the Year, January Magazine's Best Children’s Books of the Year, Bustle's "8 Feminist Poems To Inspire You When The World Is Just Too Much," and Amazon's Most Gifted Books.
In addition to writing, Studdard serves on the advisory board of Roulah Foundation, is a past president of the Associated Writing Program's Women's Caucus, and is former executive producer and host of VIDA Voices & Views for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. She received her MFA from Sarah Lawrence college and is a professor for the Lone Star College System.
Her work has been featured by NPR, PBS, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Houston Matters, and has also appeared in a wide variety of periodicals, such as POETRY, Kenyon Review, Psychology Today, New Ohio Review, Harvard Review, New England Review, and Poets & Writers.
A short film of the title poem from Studdard's 'I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast' (by Dan Sickles of Moxie Pictures for Motionpoems) was an official selection for the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival and the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, as well as winner of the REEL Poetry Festival Audience Choice Award.
Other poems of Studdard's have been made into car magnets, telepoem booth recordings, origami bouquets, and Houston City Banners and have won or placed in prizes such as The Lucille Medwick Memorial Award for a poem on a humanitarian theme from The Poetry Society of America, The Penn Review Poetry Prize, Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize from The Missouri Review, the Tom Howard Prize from Winning Writers, The Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Prize from Munster Literature Centre, and Aesthetica magazine Creative Writing Award.
Her book awards include the Forward National Literature Award, the International Book Award, the Kathak Literary Award, the Poiesis Award of Honor International, the Readers' Favorite Award, and two Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards. As well, her works have been listed in Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts' Best Books of the Year, January Magazine's Best Children’s Books of the Year, Bustle's "8 Feminist Poems To Inspire You When The World Is Just Too Much," and Amazon's Most Gifted Books.
In addition to writing, Studdard serves on the advisory board of Roulah Foundation, is a past president of the Associated Writing Program's Women's Caucus, and is former executive producer and host of VIDA Voices & Views for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. She received her MFA from Sarah Lawrence college and is a professor for the Lone Star College System.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 16, 2022
Books like this are the reason poetry was invented, IMO. Flamboyant, inventive, kind, lyrical, expertly crafted, and deeply funny. My favorite poem was “Untitled!” 💃
July 18, 2022
Tired of boring poetry? Then read this!
In DEAR SELECTION COMMITTEE, Melissa Studdard sets the literary world on fire with poems that are smart and sensual, witty and sexy, fun and incredibly poignant. These poems break boundaries, talk sex and love and life in a voice that is authentically Studdard's.
Because this book is just a joy, I don't want to say too much because I want you to experience what it's like to fall into this beautiful, surreal world where God is telling a series of knock-knock jokes, and we're pretending our life is a sitcom when things go wrong. You may end up with an angel between your teeth. A drunk guy may Uber an injured goldfinch to a wildlife rehab. This is what I'm saying--you do not know what's coming next and that's the gift of this collection.
Funny and wild, these are poems that will vault into your mind, stay there, win a gold medal because they always score a 10 with their dismount.
If you're tired of poetry that makes you fall asleep, this is your antidote. DEAR SELECTION COMMITTEE will make you toss every boring book of poems you've ever owned and replace them with a 1000 copies of this. If you are looking for that new voice that so engages you, you've found it. You will so enjoy!
In DEAR SELECTION COMMITTEE, Melissa Studdard sets the literary world on fire with poems that are smart and sensual, witty and sexy, fun and incredibly poignant. These poems break boundaries, talk sex and love and life in a voice that is authentically Studdard's.
Because this book is just a joy, I don't want to say too much because I want you to experience what it's like to fall into this beautiful, surreal world where God is telling a series of knock-knock jokes, and we're pretending our life is a sitcom when things go wrong. You may end up with an angel between your teeth. A drunk guy may Uber an injured goldfinch to a wildlife rehab. This is what I'm saying--you do not know what's coming next and that's the gift of this collection.
Funny and wild, these are poems that will vault into your mind, stay there, win a gold medal because they always score a 10 with their dismount.
If you're tired of poetry that makes you fall asleep, this is your antidote. DEAR SELECTION COMMITTEE will make you toss every boring book of poems you've ever owned and replace them with a 1000 copies of this. If you are looking for that new voice that so engages you, you've found it. You will so enjoy!
May 26, 2022
I felt this collection of poetry in my bones.
May 11, 2022
I really enjoyed this collection of poems. My personal favorites (those I reread the most) were "Inside the Beige Brick House, the Beige Rooms", "A Little Bit Rain", and "Modus Operandi". Wonderful blend of serious, fun, and bizarre.
May 22, 2022
An awesome read on a hot, stormy late-spring afternoon. These poems are great for reading out loud. I had a lot of fun with the different styles and mix of upbeat, strange, melancholic, deep, flamboyant and fun poems in this beautifully written book. I enjoyed how the sections are put together like an application and interview process, with the poems in some way pertaining to a section on an application or question in an interview. Another good win from Goodreads giveaways!
Thank you Melissa Studdard and Goodreads giveaways for the signed book!!
Thank you Melissa Studdard and Goodreads giveaways for the signed book!!
May 18, 2022
Gathering this anthology in the form of a job application/ interview, is complete genius! After all isn’t most of our lives spent applying for “something” ie a job, a place to belong in the world. Melissa Studdard ferociously and flamboyantly bares her soul in such a candid way on such issues as pain, addiction, modern society, sexual orientation and even climate change. Honestly baring her messy self, soul and all in this anthology had me so envious of her courage to scream “this is me, take it or leave it.” It may not be for all readers, but resonated deeply with me. I look forward to more of her writing.
July 14, 2022
OMG, this book: Amazing. First poem floored me ... & it just keeps getting better. Studdard is too sexy for her shirt. These poems do big turns on the catwalk! Take, for instance, a poem titled "When the Drunk Guy Sent an Injured Baby Goldfish to the Wildlife Rehab by Uber." I mean, how could a poem with this title be a bad poem? True to form, Studdard is spot-on hilarious, sharing
"My kid DM'd me two smiley laughing tears
and the note: This is something you would do,
and I don't know if that meant the drunk part
or the goldfish alone in the backseat part
but I think it's possible life may just be
God telling a series of knock knock jokes ..."
Studdard plays the language instrument like a Prince, a Joplin, or a Hendrix. She's got the full range going on! Not just the ha-has out the wazoo, but ample moments of gravitas and wisdom. as in "My Boyfriend's Body's Covered in Newspaper," where she opines
"What surprises me
about the body is resilience. Mine
has been a shot glass, a punching
bag, a cigarette filter, a lie
detector, a crash test dummy."
I mean, swoon, right? This coming right after the line "Life's never dull when your name's / Melissa and your mascot / is a huge, erect, disembodied penis ...," a kind of line, that by page 33, you've come to expect from this genius of a poet. Her spins on the catwalk deserve a "unanimous, and wholly sincere, victory toast," to say the least. If you are in need of some reasons to feel better about the state of our monkey-poxed, covided, unhinged world, this is the book to grab for as it all goes down.
"My kid DM'd me two smiley laughing tears
and the note: This is something you would do,
and I don't know if that meant the drunk part
or the goldfish alone in the backseat part
but I think it's possible life may just be
God telling a series of knock knock jokes ..."
Studdard plays the language instrument like a Prince, a Joplin, or a Hendrix. She's got the full range going on! Not just the ha-has out the wazoo, but ample moments of gravitas and wisdom. as in "My Boyfriend's Body's Covered in Newspaper," where she opines
"What surprises me
about the body is resilience. Mine
has been a shot glass, a punching
bag, a cigarette filter, a lie
detector, a crash test dummy."
I mean, swoon, right? This coming right after the line "Life's never dull when your name's / Melissa and your mascot / is a huge, erect, disembodied penis ...," a kind of line, that by page 33, you've come to expect from this genius of a poet. Her spins on the catwalk deserve a "unanimous, and wholly sincere, victory toast," to say the least. If you are in need of some reasons to feel better about the state of our monkey-poxed, covided, unhinged world, this is the book to grab for as it all goes down.
July 26, 2022
I love this so much. SO MUCH. The poems were great, the topics were great, even formatting the book into an application was such a great idea. It feels more like an honest reply to questions we're asked all the time: Why do you want to be here? What can you do? What have you done?
The topics ranged from experience, love, and purpose. And many of the poems are written in stream of consciousness, which is probably one of my favorite poetry methods when it comes to any free verse poetry. There is some LGBTQ in here, but it's not exclusively LGBTQ so I won't mark it as such, though many of the love poems are directed at a man or no specified gender, she does say she falls in love with a woman and a non-binary.
My favorite poems outside of the hard hitter 'Dear Selection Committee', are probably 'In the House, I Built Another House', 'The Pain Is So Resplendent It Has Babies', and 'When My Lover Says Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia'.
Honestly, probably going to write Melissa a letter or email or something, I loved this that much.
The topics ranged from experience, love, and purpose. And many of the poems are written in stream of consciousness, which is probably one of my favorite poetry methods when it comes to any free verse poetry. There is some LGBTQ in here, but it's not exclusively LGBTQ so I won't mark it as such, though many of the love poems are directed at a man or no specified gender, she does say she falls in love with a woman and a non-binary.
My favorite poems outside of the hard hitter 'Dear Selection Committee', are probably 'In the House, I Built Another House', 'The Pain Is So Resplendent It Has Babies', and 'When My Lover Says Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia'.
Honestly, probably going to write Melissa a letter or email or something, I loved this that much.
June 3, 2022
Some people know how to be free in a world that tries its hardest to nail you down. Studdard's new collection reminds us that freedom of expression is not only desirable but necessary. That imagination is what allows us to function in a state outside of life's heaviest expectations. What is more serious than a job application and yet she takes the kite by the tail and not only sends it shimmering into the clouds she flies right with it. But this is no fantasy story, it's a sexy, sensual ride through ruin and reinvention. As a long-time fan of Studdard's work I can say this is her finest yet. The books tenderest moments draw you into the natural world, through loss and affirmation but the surprising turns and subjects are aloft with humor that remind you not to take life too seriously. It's your life - live it, cherish it, make love to it and don't be afraid to apply for what you want!
June 2, 2022
I received this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. This book of poems by author Melissa Students is a joy to read. I have read it once and am putting it aside for a second, and probably third, read. These poems deserve to be read slowly and savored. Perfect for anyone who enjoys a master word crafter.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2023
I found the poem, "Tour of Grief" to be the most outstanding one in this interesting collection organized as if applying for a job (part one is titled "application" with subtitles like, "why I want the job," and part two is called "interview" with subtitles like, "what are some important lessons you have learned from previous jobs?"). "Tour of Grief" tells the story of a mother orca whale who carried her dead calf on her back for an extended period. The poem is beautifully rendered, as are many others in the book.
June 23, 2022
Hire this book for the opening on your reading list!
November 5, 2024
I received an ARC of this book and finally got around to reviewing it! I absolutely loved this funny, deep collection of poems.
Passages I loved from the book:
"It occurs to me that I may be my own soul mate. That's how I've ended up in this body alone. But science says self is not so simple. I'm a mosaic of viruses, bacteria, and, likely, other people. All of us making decisions together. Group hug!" -"My Kind"
"I'm coming home with a bleeding angel between my teeth. Open the door to the heart's door." -"Untitled"
The most relatable poem for me was "The Heart is a Muscular Organ." The funniest, "The Angel." 10/10 would certainly recommend giving it a read!
Passages I loved from the book:
"It occurs to me that I may be my own soul mate. That's how I've ended up in this body alone. But science says self is not so simple. I'm a mosaic of viruses, bacteria, and, likely, other people. All of us making decisions together. Group hug!" -"My Kind"
"I'm coming home with a bleeding angel between my teeth. Open the door to the heart's door." -"Untitled"
The most relatable poem for me was "The Heart is a Muscular Organ." The funniest, "The Angel." 10/10 would certainly recommend giving it a read!
August 26, 2022
"I think it's possible life may just be//God telling a series of knock knock jokes"
And if you don't read this book, well, the joke's on you my friend. No one since Walt Whitman sings the body electric quite as seductively and consistently as Melissa Studdard can. Her poetic lines are sassy, prancy, ambitious and delicious. In her first book of poems she ate the cosmos for breakfast. Now she returns with another full-length collection brimming with appetite and attitude.
And if you don't read this book, well, the joke's on you my friend. No one since Walt Whitman sings the body electric quite as seductively and consistently as Melissa Studdard can. Her poetic lines are sassy, prancy, ambitious and delicious. In her first book of poems she ate the cosmos for breakfast. Now she returns with another full-length collection brimming with appetite and attitude.
May 20, 2022
A very interesting book of poems and really quite different from anything I've read before. Some of the poems are very thought provoking and lend themselves to rereading multiple times. I really did enjoy this book of poems. Thank you to the author, Melissa Studdard and Goodreads for the opportunity to enjoy this work of art.
August 19, 2022
Look, I don't know how to rate a poetry book. I got this one as a giveaway because I'm trying to branch out my reading. Theses were a nice way to start the morning with my breakfast. If recommend several including 'Inside the beige brick house, the beige rooms' 'In the house I built another house' 'If falling is a leaf' and 'Everyone around here is doing their best'
March 19, 2023
I won this book from Goodreads giveaways.
Periodically I jam on poetry. Very periodically. I liked the layout of the book as components of a job interview. We learn about the author (author's subjects) threw this lens. An entertaining read for deciding if we hire for the job of authoring more poems of discovery.
Periodically I jam on poetry. Very periodically. I liked the layout of the book as components of a job interview. We learn about the author (author's subjects) threw this lens. An entertaining read for deciding if we hire for the job of authoring more poems of discovery.
May 26, 2022
Ok first the cover of the book is beautiful. Second this is definitely one of the better poetry books I have read!
My two favorite poems were "modus operandi" and "everyone around here is doing their best".
I would definitely read more of the authors books in the future.
My two favorite poems were "modus operandi" and "everyone around here is doing their best".
I would definitely read more of the authors books in the future.
June 4, 2023
I love these poems so much. Each one is easily 5 stars, but I'm disappointed because almost half the book (literally: 46/100 pages) is blank or mostly blank (section headers.) The central conceit is good, I only wish each segment had more poems within it.
May 16, 2022
I won this book in a Giveaway, and it’s a pretty good little collection of poetry!
August 29, 2022
Review TK!
April 4, 2023
Witty, intelligent poetry that satirizes the job-seeking process. Sexy, sassy, and just a pleasure to read.
September 11, 2024
Sharp and smart, funny and dark.
September 16, 2023
A collection of poems that span the imagination and bring the wonderful and the weird.
from Inside the Beige Brick House, the Beige Rooms: "I know the scent of earth / revealing her secrets after a much-needed raid. I buried // everything they told me to bury. Then, I dug it up again."
from Tour of Grief: "All seventeen days the orca wore / her dead like a crown, // sorrow riling to a bob and weave, / knocking her hollow. // What water and womb / could no longer carry, she had to carry."
from We Made a Gala: "And, yes, safety is a luxury, but maybe / we humans deserve it—so I mix memory with vodka / and call it a highball. / I walk through the meadows of suffering, / the parking lots of wonder."
from Inside the Beige Brick House, the Beige Rooms: "I know the scent of earth / revealing her secrets after a much-needed raid. I buried // everything they told me to bury. Then, I dug it up again."
from Tour of Grief: "All seventeen days the orca wore / her dead like a crown, // sorrow riling to a bob and weave, / knocking her hollow. // What water and womb / could no longer carry, she had to carry."
from We Made a Gala: "And, yes, safety is a luxury, but maybe / we humans deserve it—so I mix memory with vodka / and call it a highball. / I walk through the meadows of suffering, / the parking lots of wonder."
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews