{"product_id":"chaotic-good-isabelle-baafi-9780819501455","title":"Chaotic Good","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn evocative journey of self-discovery and reclamation in the wake of divorce\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis fresh, dynamic debut poetry book from award-winning poet Isabelle Baafi explores the transformative journey of redefining one's identity following trauma and upheaval. This conversational collection simmers with energy and immediacy as it interrogates how much our identity is determined by the circumstances into which we are born. The book's five sections travel backwards and forwards in time: asking urgent questions of self-knowledge and change during a marital breakdown, revisiting the formation of a moral compass during childhood, navigating the pitfalls of powerlessness and conformity during adolescence, charting the rise and fall of a passionate marriage, and seeking revitalisation in the wake of divorce. Visceral scenes from childhood and adolescence are set against deeply resonant moments of love blossoming and love dying to explore desire, power, and self-perception in unexpected ways. This exquisite and moving collection marks the emergence of a distinctive poetic voice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[Sample Poem]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe way you say pen\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAfter Irene P. Mathieu's 'Soil'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eit sounds like pain, as in\u003cbr\u003eall I ever wanted was to live by my pain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you want to raze a city, all you need \u003cbr\u003eis some paper and a good pain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou once said that a woman with a pain \u003cbr\u003eis like a gun who soon finds more targets than mercy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEvery day I lost another pain, but you \u003cbr\u003egave me another to take its place.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA child starts out writing in pencil, \u003cbr\u003ebut mastery is rewarded with a pain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAged six, first trip without Dad, my legs the canvas: \u003cbr\u003elightning scratched into me with my mother's pain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMy shadow from the day I learned to skip \u003cbr\u003ewith bloodied knees - she was my pain pal all this time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe pain is mightier than the sword, \u003cbr\u003eand twice as likely to punish its owner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat a luxury and a curse, to live and die \u003cbr\u003eby the torrent of my pain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRainclouds surround the registry. Organza-veiled \u003cbr\u003eand blister-footed, I am yours with the flick of a pain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Fill out in block capitals with black ink.' Some truths \u003cbr\u003eare only valid when the right pain tells them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Isabelle Baafi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 081950145X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780819501455\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Wesleyan University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/11\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 104\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Isabelle Baafi","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46431533302015,"sku":"9780819501455","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_852fbc25-f683-4e93-b4e0-a037c98090b8.jpg?v=1735141622","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/chaotic-good-isabelle-baafi-9780819501455","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}