{"product_id":"safe-rooms-rae-armantrout-9780819501721","title":"Safe Rooms","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eObservant and visionary poems offer way stations amidst turmoil\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcclaimed author Rae Armantrout's remarkable new collection \u003ci\u003eSafe Rooms\u003c\/i\u003e, explores the undercurrents of modern life with an unflinching eye on human nature, social malaise, and the unsettling ways in which we attempt to protect ourselves from a world that continually undermines our sense of safety. As the title poem says: \"your thoughts \/roar and echo\/\/around you--originating\/god knows where.\/\/ You try to plug your ears\/but you are an ear\/ that can't stop listening.\" Through poems that examine our darker impulses--our tendencies to self-destruct, to grapple with envy, and to navigate the intricate web of family dynamics--Armantrout captures the complex, often contradictory ways in which we search for meaning and connection. Her work holds a mirror to the forces shaping us, both intimate and vast, showing that the so-called \"safe rooms\" we construct are fragile, temporary shelters, not havens from the chaos that surrounds us.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[sample poem]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn atom \"is localized\u003cbr\u003eby an interaction\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe way you surprise yourself\u003cbr\u003eby expressing an opinion\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhen asked, \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eone you didn't know you had\u003cbr\u003eand may not hold\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efor long.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 2\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eA subatomic particle is not\u003cbr\u003eits mass or spin\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ethe way a person\u003cbr\u003eis not a body\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eand a poem is not\u003cbr\u003ewhat it says.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Rae Armantrout\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0819501727\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780819501721\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 08\/11\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 112\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Rae Armantrout","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48443134116095,"sku":"9780819501721","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_fb30d338-9b96-454d-98bb-3c7dc198f688.jpg?v=1777202062","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/safe-rooms-rae-armantrout-9780819501721","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}