"I wish," writes Maureen Bocka in "First name Barbie last name Doll, " "I could tell you my history / Make you see past all the pink distractions." With apologies to Aqua, the Barbie girl's life in plastic isn't always so fantastic. These dazzling, clear-eyed poems deftly explore love, loss, betrayal, and inequality in a world where Dreamhouse closets are shut so tight, even President Barbie declares, "If it's ever known my friends and I / are lesbians we'll be incinerated for sure." Thank goodness Bocka is here to rip those pink doors open and report fearlessly on the secrets behind them.
-T.A. Noonan, author of "The Bone Folders, Petticoat Government, " and "four sparks fall"