Complete Encyclopedia of Different Types of People, A

“??Winner of the 2011 A.M. Klein Poetry Prize!People who rely on stereotypes are often vilified. But really, is there a better way to classify people? There are some taxonimical difficulties, though. Exactly how many types of people are there? What behaviours are characteristic of each particular group? How do you know if you've spotted an armchair psychologist or a kleptomaniac? Gabe Foreman's A Complete Encyclopedia of Different Types of People is not your average reference book. It turns a series of sociological case studies into a functional encyclopedia that doubles as a unique, achingly funny, always engaging collection of poems. 'Bridesmaids,' 'Day Traders,' 'Entomologists' and 'Number Crunchers' are all dutifully catalogued in a series of luminously strange, compellingly original lyric and prose poems. The resulting field guide to our disparate humanity is often absurd, sometimes sad, and frequently a mixture of both, as each entry unravels according to its own spidery logic.'Foreman quite evidently had a lot of fun writing these poems, and readers will reap the benefits of his pleasure-driven efforts. The dominion of "pleasure" (both writer's and reader's) as a critical touchstone may have been toppled, in poetry at least, in the late nineteenth century, but Foreman seems poised to carry poetry forward by recapturing the spirit of a century gone by.' – Huffington Post'A Complete Encyclopedia of Different Types of People is the private abecedary of a playful but serious imagination, a field guide to daydreams and frailties … We are in a golden age of Canadian poetry.' – National Post 'This immensely entertaining book declines classifications for us all.' – Montreal Review of Books'These poems yearn to be read aloud, to be shown to the person next to you on the bus. This Complete Encyclopedia is a small masterpiece.' – Geist