Quick Look: "Analog Poet Blues" by Yeva Johnson

Title: Analog Poet Blues

Author: Yeva Johnson

Genre: Poetry

Big Ideas (Themes): Bias, discrimination, and/or racism, Culture, Identity, Technology & Queerness

Book Size: Novelette or Poetry Chapbook (Under 100 pages)

World Categories - Setting: North America - U.S. & Canada

World Categories - Characters: Black, Mixed Race, White, Jewish

World Categories - Author: Black, Mixed Race, White, Jewish

Other Representation - Characters: Complex female characters, LGBTQ+ characters

Reading Level Based on Difficulty: High School, Adult

Maturity Level Based on Content: High School, Adult

Sensitive or Mature Topics Include: Sex

Notes on Sensitive or Adult Topics: Queer love/sex

Series? No

Number of Books in Series: N/A

Introductory Summary: Analog Poet Blues is a poetry chapbook exploring connection in the digital age. Yeva Johnson expresses how loneliness and community are byproducts of a tech driven world. Recurring themes include the search for love and navigating queer love, finding one's voice, building a community, and uncovering self through the process.

What we like about this book: I found many of the feelings expressed in the poems completely relatable. The poet deals with the Covid pandemic forcing her online despite our long resistance and that continual longing and desire for in person connection. She also aptly and succinctly expresses concerns about the lack of privacy and our personhood ad products in one of my favorite lines: "I'm never sure what's for sale - / the pretty pictures /What's in the pretty pictures/ or just me."

3 Reasons Students Will Like This Book:

1. Atypical subject matter for poetry. I think students will find the exploration of technology, privacy, and relationships in the digital world refreshingly different from the typical poetry taught in schools.

2. Relevance. Students who grew up during the pandemic era will find cultural relevance in poems Like "Letter from an Analog Poet Who's Lost Internet Access."

3. Discussion starter. The book also responds to issues of discrimination and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which may make an interesting jumping off point for students who were too young then to fully know what was going on, and are older now to look back on the impact of it and the poet's response. Where are we now?

Teaching Notes / Recommendations:

Given today's political climate, I would be hesitant to assign this book as a whole, particularly in high school, lest some conservative parent find out it contains references to queer love and sex, even though "The Color Purple" which also has scenes of two women making love has been in schools for a few decades now. That said, the following teaching suggestions are assuming a mature and adult student body with freedom to explore adult themes.

What I love about this book is the cultural interconnectedness of all the themes within it and how while each poem can be read as a distinct part, this chapbook is better to read as a whole to see how the poems connect and overlap and tell a story about our culture. As a student, I was never introduced to poetry in chapbook form and I think that is something that should be remedied for today's literature students. This book is more enlightening as a journey. So, I would recommend assigning the whole book, but then teaching and discussing different poems according to themes. It's an excellent opportunity to compare and contrast themes and the poet's thesis, because she often contradicts herself or versions of herself when it comes to her feelings about technology.

In teaching this book, I would explore how the poet uses the individual poetic devices including repetition, extended metaphor, similes, couplets, etc. to explore the role of technology in her life. In terms of exploring themes, I would focus on what role, if any, does the poet believe technology should have in our lives? Students should compare and contrast two different poems from the book to analyze how her feelings are contradictory. I would also concentrate on the role of technology in building community, but also contributing to isolation. According to the poet, how does technology affect human relationships.

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