The Boy in the Labyrinth: Poems (Akron Series in Poetry)

"In a long sequence of prose poems, questionnaires, and standardized tests, The Boy in the Labyrinth interrogates the language of autism and the language barriers between parents, their children, and the fractured medium of science and school. Structured as a Greek play, the book opens with a parents' earnest quest for answers, understanding, and doubt. Each section of the Three Act is highlighted by "Autism Spectrum Questionnaires" which are in dialogue with and in opposition to what the parent perceives to be their relationship with their child. Interspersed throughout each section are sequences of standardized test questions akin to those one would find in grade school, except these questions unravel into deeper mysteries. The depth of the book is told in a series of episodic prose poems that parallel the parable of Theseus and the Minotaur. In these short clips of montage the unnamed "boy" explores his world and the world of perception, all the while hearing the rumblings of the Minotaur somewhere in the heart of an immense Labyrinth. Through the medium of this allusion, de la Paz meditates on failures, foundering, and the possibility of finding one's way"-- Provided by publisher Cover Copyright Contents Credo Twenty-Eight Tiny Failures and One Labyrinth Prologue Minos Strophe Autism Screening Questionnaire: Social Interaction Difficulties Chorus: Complete the Sentences Episode 1: Labyrinth Chorus: Solve for X Episode 2: Labyrinth Chorus: Light Is to Dark as Nerve Is to _________ Episode 3: Labyrinth Chorus: Select an Answer Episode 4: Labyrinth Chorus: Complete the Sentences A Story Problem Antistrophe Autism Screening Questionnaire: Abnormal Symbolic or Imaginative Play Chorus: Select an Answer Episode 5: Labyrinth Chorus: Solve for X Episode 6: Labyrinth Chorus: Complete the Sentences Episode 7: Labyrinth Chorus: Monster Is to Damned as Lariat Is to _________ A Story Problem Epode Autism Screening Questionnaire: Speech and Language Delay Chorus: Mongrel Is to Madness as Fire Is to _________ Episode 8: Labyrinth Chorus: Select an Answer Episode 9: Labyrinth Chorus: Solve for X Episode 10: Labyrinth Coda A Story Problem One Labyrinth Acknowledgments