About this item
Highlights
- The Florida Man meme lodged itself into the national consciousness through viral headlines like "Florida man threw live gator in Wendy's drive-thru window.
- Author(s): Tyler Gillespie
- 128 Pages
- Poetry, Subjects & Themes
Description
About the Book
A lyric mix of journalism, science, family lore, and lived experience reveals the complex realities of Florida and a redemption that's wondrously messy and surprising.
Book Synopsis
The Florida Man meme lodged itself into the national consciousness through viral headlines like "Florida man threw live gator in Wendy's drive-thru window." But there's much more to the meme than a punchline. In this innovative collection, Tyler Gillespie strips away the accepted myths of his home state and its inhabitants in poems centered on Florida's history and culture. He uses a lyric mix of journalism, science, family lore, and lived experience to reveal complex realities of the state and a redemption that's wondrously messy and surprising.
Since the collection's initial publication in 2018, Florida has become even more chaotic and unsafe. In this time, too, Gillespie emerged as one of the state's rising literary voices for his wit and style. This second edition revisits the original collection and extends its themes with 20 new poems that form the chapbook-length addition HEAT ADVISORY.
Review Quotes
"Gillespie has published an emphatic book of poems." - The Washington Post
"Florida Man conveys the scope of Florida beyond the flattened punchlines associated with the collection's eponymous character." - The Millions
"All of it drips with Floridiana." - Tampa Bay Times