Peppered with faded icons, trash TV, washed-up country singers and greasy food, the poems of Lardcake evoke a jaded, artificial society. But lest you think it overly earnest or depressing, one should note many of David McGimpsey's vivid images are reluctantly hilarious. From All the thirtysomething Characters Die to George Bush Has Retired in my Backyard, these irreverent commentaries on a fast-food, TV-blitzed era make their point with frequent references to the unremarkable pap that has become mainstream culture. These 43 poems are tempered with a desire to cut through all the garbage and grasp for something real. | Lardcake by David McGimpsey, Paperback | Indigo Chapters