{"product_id":"the-somatoliths-9798989834563","title":"The Somatoliths","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn childhood, our obsessions often lie in seemingly the most trivial of objects. Be they simple sticks, stones, or other bone-breaking things, these totems carry weight normally reserved for relics of grander reverence. In essence, these mementos transcend traditional sacred objects into something more personally potent. In James Cole's \u003cem\u003eThe Somatoliths\u003c\/em\u003e, the smallest of obstructions are sorted and curated in a museum of poetic musings that seek to analyze, defend, and mock the elements of our own mythologies. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Somatoliths\u003c\/em\u003e explores how words and symbols become like bodily stones, unprocessable things that enhance or hinder our daily thoughts and actions. In its first sections, \u003cem\u003eThe Gastroliths\u003c\/em\u003e, Cole explores those difficult-to-swallow truths, whose own unproductive digestions teach the habits and endurance necessary to cope. Part two, \u003cem\u003eThe Bufonite\u003c\/em\u003e, uses the image of a mythical gemstone as the locus for lyrical medicines for childhood anxieties. Later, \u003cem\u003eThe Regurgitalith\u003c\/em\u003e seeks to undo these habits, to find ways around the rote methods we use to cope to find the grim, often comically absurd weaknesses in the facades we conjure. Lastly, \u003cem\u003eThe Urolith\u003c\/em\u003e meditates on very nature of poetic ideas, those things born inside but that must come out in the most ruthless ways possible. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCombining elements of Cole's trademark humor and rumination, \u003cem\u003eThe Somatoliths \u003c\/em\u003eoffers a many-layered sideshow of gaffs and adages perfect for poetry veterans and newcomers alike. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gnashing Teeth Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50900363084050,"sku":"9798989834563","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_708e02da-60e2-4927-b636-47e6a6934901.jpg?v=1738380463","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-somatoliths-9798989834563","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}