Sick Power Trip

(Paperback)

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I stored my plan for world peace

safely in my coat pocket,

and then I washed the coat.

Sick Power Trip is Erik Kennedys most personal and vulnerable book yet. These are poems that tell us: the world is unwell, and sometimes writers are, too. Kennedy scrutinises the broken social contract and the dangerous actors who seem determined to dominate us, and writes with open eyes about long COVID and living wages, self-medication and sea temperatures. If it feels like were stuck in a post-truth moment, Kennedy reminds us that some things remain true and vital: self-care, empathy, and solidarity.

Reviews

Erik Kennedy is a political poet bubbling with emotion. His manic narratives and twisted comedies square up to power, be it faceless systems or your opinionated Uncle Trevor. By turns angry, exasperated, chuckling, despairing, he gives voice to the clammy, suffering, sweltry, cynical, burned-out, / downhearted, vulnerable people. James Brown

Sick Power Trip takes a scalpel to the systems of power, capital, and warfare that we live with. Kennedy has an impressive knack for finding the line between didactic and forgiving, striking a note of urgency that is desperately needed in this time of crises. With wry humour and a distinct playfulness, this new collection offers not a balm for the world but the courage to dismantle it. Ash Davida Jane

Author Bio

Erik Kennedy is the author of two previous books of poems, both with THWUP: the Ockham-shortlisted Theres No Place Like the Internet in Springtime (2018) and Another Beautiful Day Indoors (2022). Originally from New Jersey, he lives in tautahi Christchurch.