I'm Not in Control: Poems + Memes by James McCrae

We live in strange times.

Information (both real and fake) is coming to us at a rapid pace, artificial intelligence and social media are turning people into algorithmic data, COVID-19 has altered the fabric of society, and the U.S. Pentagon has disclosed the existence of UFOs.

In this brave new world, do people still have time for poetry? Is it still relevant?

I think yes. It just must speak directly to the strange and uncertain times we’re living in.

is a timely collection of poetry + memes that meets readers where they are today – in a fast-changing world that is surreal, isolating, and confusing. It’s also a book about hope, a book that cracks a joke in the middle of an existential crisis, a book that reaches out to touch readers with moments of shared humanity.

Written with direct candor and naked vulnerability borrowed from American writers like Walt Whitman, Allen Ginsberg, and Hunter S. Thompson, is a captivating (and often hilarious) book about the beauty, tragedy, and strangeness of being alive.