review 1: I appreciate the subject matter, but I don't usually care for volumes in which the poems appear to be discrete pieces, but are really just one continuous poem and the lines are mostly interchangeable. For me, at least upon the first reading, the introductory poems "I Once Was a Child," "We Are High Performers," and "My Father Says," are the most successful, and I like it when the poet's daughters appear, especially in the second poem in the volume titled "Edward Hopper's Office at Night." Like most ekphrastic poetry, the reader doesn't fully appreciate the poem until, in this case, the painting is viewed. I'm curious about the reasoning for including a couple of different poems written in response to the same Hopper painting. She wants more than one perspective, and the 3 ... morepoems titled "Edward Hopper's office At Night," for example, can't be combined? Lastly, this is a very handsome book. Great image on the cover, and striking color combination. review 2: An excellent collection of narrative poetry, mostly about bosses, some about a father (who is, or was, a kind of boss). Chang has a good ear for word play, word sound, punning, and enjambment. Her poems are rich, funny, and moving. Although her spare use of commas may daunt conservative readers, the poems will reward those readers who remain patient. No hermetically sealed, private mythologies here. The workplace, the emotional toll of knowing you may be fired at any moment for no reason at all, and the fear and resentment bosses instill in their underlings are topics rarely covered in poetry. less
