(This Is Not A) Mixtape for the End of the World

by Daniel M. Shapiro

Daniel M. Shapiro’s (This Is Not A) Mixtape for the End of the World is a collection of prose poems inspired by the heyday of MTV pop music videos. The poems distill the juxtaposition of sunny materialism and Cold War trepidation that define so many music videos of the 1980s. Shapiro chips away at nostalgia while clinging to what makes his source material so catchy. A series of artworks by Stephen Tornero accompanies the poems. Much like the period’s music, the bold excess, bright colors, and festive abstractions stand in contrast to the decade’s underbelly.

”Like the light that reaches earth from a dying star, whether celebrity or celestial body, Daniel M. Shapiro’s poems from (This Is Not A) Mixtape for the End of the World radiate a brilliancy that lingers long after you’ve put this collection down.”

—Jennifer MacBain-Stephens
author, We’re Going to Need a Higher Fence

”Shapiro reminds us we are all owners of a lonely heart trying to outshine the drummer’s hair and forget we cannot sleep.”

—Jennifer MacBain-Stephens
author, We’re Going to Need a Higher Fence

”This book is for the auditory what ekphrasis is for the visual.”

—Kenning JP Garcia
author, So This Is Story

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