Poetry. Winner of the 2001 New Issues Poetry Prize. Introduced by C. D. Wright. In HOUSEHOLD MECHANICS, Sarah Mangold's brilliant and eccentric first book, the story is never fully told but introduced and re-introduced. Line after dislocated line recalls our own attempt to reach the essence of the subject in the only way we know how—by continuously broaching it. Here, overheard conversation, family stories, literary theory, music, and even TV become part of history, the story one tells and retells. By turns playful and acerbic, Mangold reveals the futility of even trying to tell it right: there is no right, says HOUSEHOLD MECHANICS; there is no end to this, or any, tale.

"Awareness begins at home, 'eye level with the cake,' or so one could infer from Sarah Mangold's HOUSEHOLD MECHANICS, a disquieting review of indirect disclosures, internal churnings, and palpable notions, subjected to a tense and skeletal language. She probes, evokes but chooses not to describe or elaborate. She 'pulls across' which she distinguishes from 'associating with.' The voice is consistent, distant. The sentence is disjointed; the thinking continuous."—C. D. Wright

Author City: EDMONDS, WA USA

Sarah Mangold's first book, HOUSEHOLD MECHANICS (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2002) was selected by C. D. Wright for the New Issues Poetry Prize. Chapbooks include Parlor (dusie kollectiv, 2007), Picture of the Basket (dusie kollecitv, 2006), Boxer Rebellion (g o n g, 2004) and BLOOD SUBSTITUTES (Potes & Poets, 1998). She has been awarded residencies at MacDowell and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program as well as an Individual Artist award from the Seattle Arts Commission. She received her MFA from San Francsico State University and BA from the University of Oklahoma. From 2000-2009, she edited Bird Dog, a print literary journal of innovative writing and art. With Maryrose Larkin, she co-edits FLASH + CARD, a chapbook and ephemera poetry press.