Overview

"""The magic of the perpetual condition is not the animal in us, but our compulsion to be like God. It is creation. Not animalism. Every kiss has the possibility of creating a galaxy, a universe, a life. It is this act of creation which we are compelled to call blessed."" Act IV: Chaos Machines Usurper Kings is an inspection of the feminine through time. Sapha Burnell's large scale poetic debut on the surface, is a poetry collection in five Acts. However, without each poem's strength and individual beauty at that exact placement, the entire structure would fold in on itself. Move a piece, and the laws governing the works are turned on their heads. Without each work proclaiming its necessity, obstinate in its existence, Usurper Kings would serve no purpose, and become a litany of words rather than a treatise on cosmology and feminism throughout time and beyond our scope. A Poetry Collection in five acts, Usurper Kings is Sapha Burnell's first solo project. Part art, part essay on cosmology and feminism throughout the ages, Usurper Kingsstarts at the Big Bang and ends with a chill crawling up the spine."

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9781988034119

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Reviews

Reviewed by Kevin Hogan Usurper Kings--a 5-Star Circus of Creation Sapha Burnell's first collection of poetry, Usurper Kings, is a splendid riot of expression. From her amazingly visceral opening of Let There Be Light to her final haunting echo in the book's Epilogue, Burnell's voice jumps off the page, much like a microphone-wielding circus MC standing center ring. And though you might not catch all that's going on at first read, you're made deeply aware that Burnell's motions and movements are all carefully aimed at studying what it means to be feminine, regardless of one's gender. And just as the original, or ancient, circus was a place to proudly display one's physical prowess, Burnell puts on a creative tour du force for her readers through five acts and an Epilogue that combine to make a work of jaw-droppingly beautiful discovery. Though by no means the only poems worth mentioning, Images From an Online Chat Room, Mary Magdalene, and L' Hymne Electrique are three examples of the timeless quality of the topics explored and the language chosen to complete those explorations. In absolute control, yet with abundant playfulness, Burnell writes: Play on, the song, my sweet, my sweet In electric infamy play on! Embroil the hip and the wave functions In a battle no stopwatch can measure... --Excerpt from L' Hymne Electrique Readers can expect plenty of surprises on this journey, including Burnell's use of prose interspersed throughout the work for extra in-depth views into what anchors the collection overall. In a moment of near perfect summation at the close of Act IV, Burnell shares with her readers the meaning of Polyvoxamory, or the love of many voices. Fortunately for this work, and hopefully many more to come, Burnell's passion for voices and the messages they carry rings through crystal clear, regardless of the chaos from whence those voices came. In conclusion, let it be said: Hats... and crowns... off to Usurper Kings!

Author Information

"""Sapha is like a young Wolfgang Pauli, in every laboratory he went, there was a little explosion."" - David Roomy Strong, Brave, Beautiful Authors have an enormous job in our cultural landscape: speak truth, whisper lies, let others live in someone else's skin for a while. Takes a brave soul to let that second skin be their own. Sapha was born in Vancouver, BC in the 80's. Teethed on images of the Berlin Wall falling down. The product of Vancouver's multiculturalism, she steeped in divergent cultures, religious experiences and gender activism. After volunteering for a charity based in West Africa, Sapha tells stories bathed in science fiction & futurist themes, genetic engineering, comparative mythology & religions, and magic realism."

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