Dolls: Prose Poems by Tom Whalen

Dolls: Prose Poems by Tom Whalen / published by Caketrain in 2007 / 48-page used paperback / some rubbing to the cover, otherwise like new / long out-of-print in this format / iconic weird cover by Matthew Feyld

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“Baudelaire wrote that ‘the overriding desire of most children is to get at and see the soul of their toys.’ Rilke claimed that when children realize that their dolls are inanimate, that their toys have no souls at all, they grow disgusted with their dolls. Enter Tom Whalen . . . these beautifully crafted prose poems are as animated and frightening as voodoo dolls—think the American Girl collection in the hands of Cindy Sherman. Dolls delighted and scared me beyond belief.” -- Denise Duhamel, author of Queen for a Day