Unfair Arguments with Existence: Seven Plays for New Theatre.

It was a fun break from 'Ulysses.' I think the reason that I enjoy Ferlinghetti's writing so much is that his voice is very much like my own. Many of the poems/plays/novels he writes have a very similar sound to my own writing. In this collection, I enjoyed the Brechtian sense of alienation given to the central characters. I was fondest of 'Three Thousand Red Ants' and 'The Alligation.' The obviously false elements of theatre were what stuck out to me most (e.g., the six foot long alligator, Shooky), and recalled to mind a recent 'Paris Review' interview with Tony Kushner. My least favorite play in this collection was 'The Customs Collector in Baggy Pants,' which was really nothing but a very brief (though darkly humorous) monologue.