Civil Coping Mechanisms Russell Jaffe Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2017 From Civil Coping Mechanisms, comes… Civil Coping Mechanisms (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2017). While it may seem strange, this collection comes out of the #IAMCOPING contest hosted by CCM, in which Russell Jaffe used the publisher’s name to create a unique and thoughtful book, full of genuine insight and genius wit. Almost every title in the collection begins with “Civil Coping Mechanism” and it is arranged as a guidebook, a how-to for dealing with society’s demands, life’s shortcomings, and the perpetual disappointment of human expectation. Jaffe offers a well-crafted meta-lens for us to look at our lives, what we are trying to cope with, as well as how much of that we made ourselves. In my favorite poem in the collection, “Civil Coping Mechanism for How the Commodification Happened,” Jaffe asks the question, “Do you realize Snapchat has unlocked our social instinct / To be a part of something intimate, secret, instantly life altering… With access to the entirety of knowledge we have become agents of / Claiming the instant.” It’s true. We have access to so much, but we spend our time and energy connecting for ten brief seconds to a particular moment in someone else’s lives. But then again, with endless possibilities, there is never a right answer. In “Civil Coping Mechanisms for What We Have Done,” Jaffe demonstrates that in the face of so much, of course we go inward: “We eat snacks, we pay parking meters for readings, we watch shiny / Things. / It’s not embarrassing to love shiny things,” because what the hell else can we do? “And we have always done so / Out of loneliness, the outward, inward need to lay claim.” In this journey of “coping,” we almost always end up adding to the weights on our shoulders. As I read, I found myself wanting to say that this is a book for poets. Not only does it handle the art of writing so well, but it confronts writers’ loneliness, what Michael Chabon has called the “midnight disease.” But even more prominent is the sense of mission: “I will always write poetry because I have to.” However, just as I began to form this impression of a book for the poetry community, Jaffe called me out directly: “One would be ill advised to use the phrase ‘poetry community’ / In this world or otherwise.” Indeed, its reach extends far beyond any half-ass definition of a poetry community. This is a guide for everyone. Jaffe doesn’t allow the work to be restrained by topic, time, or place. “Civil Coping Mechanism for Tweety Bird” addresses Tweety’s rightful status as a “working class non-binary icon” while “Civil Coping Mechanism for the Tempest” reminds us that “We are a nation of conquest, mind, and spirit.” Much of the book references itself, as well as craft, peppering indicators throughout, such as, “This book is also about the non-narrative of boxes,” and “The book, like ourselves, / Is looking for its other half.” In the collection’s opening poem, “Civil Coping Mechanisms: A Maxim” Jaffe reminds us that “life is assuredly all we know we have. / Right now you are reading a book.” It is laced with several poems entitled “Author’s Note” in which the reader is plugged into Jaffe’s process: “Writing wants to be the mind and body of the moment,” or is suddenly struck with the sound of “Laughter through the invitation-only back-room smoke that David Lynch feels like whenever he speaks.” Here, I can imagine some hastily charging Jaffe with gimmickry, but any guide, poetic or otherwise, that claims to hold the power of coping (living), ought to judge its own meat once or twice. And Jaffe allows his work to do so with acute introspection and humorous grace. The banner message here, as should be the message at the core of any guide/map that tries to illuminate life’s lonely hallways, is that “Nothing is ever really known, but best practiced. That’s why living in / The Word itself is coping.” If living is coping, then it might logically follow that one must live well in order to cope well. With all its desperation and amusing sagacity, Civil Coping Mechanisms offers plenty of insight into how one might try: Love’s leveling dogmatism. In this world It is Important To serve Something. Who knows if this is wisdom, or criticism, but I suppose that I’ve learned some heavy lessons through sarcasm, and the inability to tell the difference here could very well be the point. Visit Civil Coping Mechanisms' Website

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