As is well known, the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution enables a corporation to be considered a person—with many of the rights granted to (human) individuals. But has anyone considered how this person might talk, or, for that matter, write poems? Corporations Are People, Too! is the first to explore such an idea. It begins with thirty "Corporate Sonnets," many constructed out of the corporate speak we hear and use ourselves every day. Then it goes on to examine how this language becomes part of who we are—from the products we consume, and their meanings, to the ways we think and speculate. The result is something new—both elevated and crass at the same time. The great American pragmatist philosopher John Dewey urged thinkers of his own time to "acknowledge the significance of economic factors in life, rather than evading the issue." In a witty, satirical and entertaining manner—that employs both traditional and innovative forms—this collection takes up that challenge for today. |
Recommendations |
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Jerome Sala burns all of the rule books. His poems need to be read out loud as we ditch our cubicles and throw out our tablets. This timely book seems to have been written from the inside out—dissecting advertorials with ready-mades, and raging at capitalistic indifference. As the poet himself ponders in one of his sonnets, "Perhaps its stasis urges us to disbelieve." He is a writer that I want on my side. Thank you, Jerome Sala, for this electric meditation on our frozen world.
—Kostas Anagnopoulos
Jerome Sala's Corporations Are People, Too! not only brilliantly skewers Corporate America's hypocrisy, obfuscation, in- and anti-humanity etc., but does so utilizing poetic forms and strategies so expertly it could be considered two different equally successful books, one an illustration of perfect poetic craft, the other a unique screed exposing in a totally original way the many failings of a commodity based culture.
—Michael Lally
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