At the End of the World There Is a PondAgain and again, Steven Duong's writing excavates the unnatural conditions of a seemingly natural world, asking us to pay studied attention to its inhabitants.His poems force us to keep looking: at the betta fish trapped in its mason jar, the forest choked by invasive kudzu, the elephant wounded in a landmine blast.Through its relentless scrutiny and exacting care, this magisterial debut collection poses an impossible question: How can we reconcile a deep love for the world, in all its buzzing, wriggling aliveness, with an equally deep, self-destructive desire to leave it behind?
