{"product_id":"after-the-operation-9781961897403","title":"After the Operation","description":"Elizabeth T. Gray Jr.'s \u003ci\u003eAfter the Operation\u003c\/i\u003e reports from the No Man's Land she wandered following eight hours of surgery to remove a brain tumor. What does the mind feel like after something has been taken out of your skull? \"An uninhabited coast,\" or \"all shatter and thoroughfare?\" These spare poems interweave medical documents, journal entries, and memories, assembling a polyvocal chorus to document the surgery itself and the recuperation process. The decentralized perspective of \u003ci\u003eAfter the Operation\u003c\/i\u003e allows the reader to see the procedure holistically--medically, from the doctor's perspective; subjectively, from the author's; and vicariously, from her caretakers', family's, and friends'--while approximating the disassociation the patient feels as she navigates unexpected cognitive and emotional side effects. Sometimes bleak but always gorgeous, \u003ci\u003eAfter the Operation\u003c\/i\u003e does us a great service in illuminating and articulating the complexities of a serious medical event. This tangible chronicle of Gray's terror, isolation, bafflement, desolation, love, loss, relief and gratitude serves as a beacon for all of us who will one day, as Susan Sontag says, find ourselves dwelling in \"the kingdom of the sick.\" Gray makes valiant use of her citizenship there, asking, \"When they come for you, when the unfamiliar roar comes, and a sudden opening, and light pours in, when what had kept you safe, what had always been, is breached, pried open, and light pours in, what do you want to have been writing then?\" \u003ci\u003eAfter the Operation\u003c\/i\u003e is her triumphant answer. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElizabeth T. Gray, Jr. is a poet, translator, critic, and corporate consultant. Previous collections of poetry include \u003ci\u003eSalient\u003c\/i\u003e (New Directions, 2020) and \u003ci\u003eSeries India\u003c\/i\u003e (Four Way Books, 2015). \u003ci\u003eLet Us Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season\u003c\/i\u003e (New Directions, 2022), her translations of Iran's major modern woman poet, Forough Farrokhzad (1937-1962), was a finalist for the 2023 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation. \u003ci\u003eThe Green Sea of Heaven\u003c\/i\u003e, a 30th anniversary edition of her translations of Iran's major medieval mystic poet, H?fiz (d. 1389), appeared from Monkfish Publishing in 2024. She currently serves on the Boards of Kimbilio for Black Fiction, the \u003ci\u003eBeloit Poetry Journal \u003c\/i\u003eFoundation, Friends of Writers, and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran. She was a founder and managing partner\/CEO of Conflict Management, Inc. and Alliance Management Partners, LLC, boutique corporate consulting firms. She holds a BA and JD from Harvard University and an MFA from Warren Wilson and lives in New York City. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Four Way Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51185644241170,"sku":"9781961897403","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_888319c4-32c5-4b70-9510-e00feda0d5ee.jpg?v=1744585316","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/after-the-operation-9781961897403","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}