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In Elegy on Toy Piano, Dean Young's sixth book of poems, elegiac necessity finds itself next to goofy celebration. Daffy Duck enters the Valley of the Eternals. Faulkner and bell-bottoms cling to beauty's evanescence.

Even in single poems, Young's tone and style vary. No one feeling or idea takes precedence over another, and their simultaneity is frequently revealed; sadness may throw a squirrelly shadow, joy can find itself dressed in mourning black. As in the agitated "Whirlpool Suite": "Pain / and pleasure are two signals carried / over one phoneline."

In taking up subjects as slight as the examination of a signature or a true/false test, and as pressing as the death of friends, Young's poems embrace the duplicity of feeling, the malleability of perception, and the truth telling of wordplay.

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
  2. p. 1
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  1. Title Page, Copyright, Dedication
  2. pp. 2-7
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  1. Contents
  2. pp. 8-11
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  1. Thrown as if Fierce & Wild
  2. pp. 3-12
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  1. Evening Primrose
  2. pp. 4-13
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  1. Glory
  2. pp. 5-14
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  1. Avalanche Garden
  2. pp. 6-15
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  1. Original Monkey
  2. pp. 7-8
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  1. Ghost Gash
  2. pp. 9-18
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  1. Facet
  2. pp. 10-19
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  1. Multi-Tasking
  2. pp. 11-12
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  1. Lives of the Olympians
  2. pp. 13-22
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  1. Halflives of Youngonium
  2. pp. 14-15
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  1. Fire Is Speaking
  2. pp. 16-17
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  1. Lives of the Veterans
  2. pp. 18-19
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  1. Little Black Squirrel
  2. pp. 20-29
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  1. Hammock Half in Sun
  2. pp. 21-30
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  1. May Deaths
  2. pp. 22-31
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  1. Ghost Gust
  2. pp. 23-26
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  1. With Hidden Noise
  2. pp. 27-28
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  1. Sign Here
  2. pp. 29-31
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  1. Yawn
  2. pp. 32-41
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  1. Skipping the Reception
  2. pp. 33-42
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  1. Lives of the Robots
  2. pp. 34-35
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  1. Ghost Grease
  2. pp. 36-37
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  1. Alarm Clock
  2. pp. 38-47
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  1. Flamenco
  2. pp. 39-48
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  1. Learn by Doing
  2. pp. 40-41
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  1. True/False
  2. pp. 42-44
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  1. Bolinas, California
  2. pp. 45-54
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  1. Peach Farm
  2. pp. 46-55
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  1. Venus
  2. pp. 47-48
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  1. Flamenco
  2. pp. 49-58
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  1. What’s Wrong with this Picture
  2. pp. 50-51
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  1. Interview
  2. pp. 52-53
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  1. Lives of the Mortals
  2. pp. 54-58
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  1. Whoz Side U On, Anyway?
  2. pp. 59-60
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  1. Shield of Moon Dust
  2. pp. 61-62
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  1. Tongue Doctor
  2. pp. 63-64
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  1. Rabbit, I Love You
  2. pp. 65-66
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  1. Whirlpool Suite
  2. pp. 67-68
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  1. Is This Mic On?
  2. pp. 69-70
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  1. Lemon Garlic Duck
  2. pp. 71-73
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  1. I Said Yes I Meant No
  2. pp. 74-75
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  1. Bathed in Dust and Ash
  2. pp. 76-85
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  1. I Saw My Life Go By in the Coyote’s Jaws
  2. pp. 77-78
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  1. Gray Matter
  2. pp. 79-88
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  1. Reentry
  2. pp. 80-81
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  1. Bivouacked & Garrisoned Capitol
  2. pp. 82-83
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  1. Elegy on Toy Piano
  2. pp. 84-85
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  1. Last Words
  2. pp. 86-87
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  1. Rushing through the Night
  2. pp. 88-90
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  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. 91-101
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  1. About the Author, Back Cover
  2. pp. 102-103
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