Map to the Stars by Adrian Matejka

Map to the Stars by Adrian Matejka explores the theme of "race, geography, and poverty in American during the Reagan era." He does this by discussing vehicles of all kinds, some imagined, some real, some from the classic Star Trek and Star Wars. Upon finding a Star Trek patch and crafting it for a classmate, he writes "Even the front-row kids/made fun of me for that.//How could I know?/Poor only matters around/people who aren't poor//&everyone I knew was already/a trivial thief" (21).

There is also a sense of displacement, both from the earth and from comfortable locales. For example, Outta Here Blacks explores moving to a white suburb as a black adolescent.

The poems are written in a variety of forms, including prose poems and poems with tercets or couplets. What is clear through the collection is the attention to sound, enjambment, and rhythm.

Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Stars-Penguin-Poets-Adrian-Matejka/dp/0143130579

A review: http://www.americanmicroreviews.com/map-to-the-stars-by-adrian-matejka