{"product_id":"plastic-a-poem-paperback","title":"Plastic: A Poem - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMatthew Rice\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSet during a single twelve-hour night shift in an injection molding factory, \u003ci\u003eplastic\u003c\/i\u003e is a book-length poem exploring the life of the industrial worker turned poet\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBringing together memoir, ekphrasis, and satire, plastic is based on Matthew Rice's experience working in a plastic molding factory for ten years. Illustrating alienated twenty-first-century Irish labor in poetic form, plastic engages with the inflictions and implications of a \"post-industrial,\" \"post-Troubles\" society, all while weaving in depictions of factory work from literature, film, and the visual arts. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTime-stamped to highlight the claustrophobia of the worker's experience, Rice meditates on masculinity, sectarianism, and intergenerational trauma. But at its core is a poem about feeling a calling while being submerged in the world of menial labor--making plastic airplane parts by night, making poetry by day. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eInvoking the brevity of Seamus Heaney, \u003ci\u003eplastic\u003c\/i\u003e is an expansive and imaginative poem that offers the working class a grace, dignity, and truth not often found in contemporary literature.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMATTHEW RICE\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Belfast. He holds an MA in poetry from Queen's University Belfast and is currently undertaking a PhD at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's. His debut collection, \u003ci\u003eThe Last Weather Observer\u003c\/i\u003e, was published in 2021 to critical acclaim, highly commended for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and included in the Arts Council of Northern Ireland's top ten books of the year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.4 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 13, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47354273530105,"sku":"9781593768034","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/rW31BFqe0J9781593768034.webp?v=1769833437","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/plastic-a-poem-paperback","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}