I Must Be Living Twice: New and Selected Poems

"Myles speaks with one of the essential voices in American poetry." —New York Times

A collection of new and selected past work from one of America’s most celebrated poets

Eileen Myles's poetry and prose are known for their blend of reality and fiction, the sublime and the ephemeral, in which readers can peer into existent places, like the East Village of Myles's iconic Chelsea Girls. But they are also lifted into dreams, through writing that has the vividness and energy of fantasy.

I Must Be Living Twice brings selections from the poet’s previous work together with a set of bold new poems, through which Myles continues to refine their sardonic, unapologetic, and fiercely intellectual literary voice. Steeped in the culture of New York City, Myles's stomping grounds and the home of their most well-known work, they provide a wide-open lens into radical life.

Eileen Myles’s poetry and prose are known for their blend of reality and fiction, the sublime and the ephemeral, in which readers can peer into existent places, like the East Village of Myles’s iconic Chelsea Girls. But they are also lifted into dreams, through writing that has the vividness and energy of fantasy.

I Must Be Living Twice brings selections from the poet’s previous work together with a set of bold new poems, through which Myles continues to refine their sardonic, unapologetic, and fiercely intellectual literary voice. Steeped in the culture of New York City, Myles’s stomping grounds and the home of their most well-known work, they provide a wide-open lens into a radical life.

“Myles's work is hard to describe, best encountered on its own terms; suffice to say it combines frankness and beauty in a truly original way.” - The Guardian

“As lead adds luster to crystal, plain talk insures the strength and transparency of poetry. That would explain why this large selection of Eileen Myles’s poetry feels so breathtakingly engaging, like a gasp of fresh air in the turbulent urban environment she writes from. Once again, Myles shows how there's no substitute for telling it like it is.” - John Ashbery

“Myles's work is hard to describe, best encountered on its own terms; suffice to say it combines frankness and beauty in a truly original way.” - The Guardian

“Myles has long been a steady presence on the New York poetry scene...With the publication of this new and selected volume, which covers her 40-year career, [Myles] has become the toast of the town and the poetry world at-large.” - Publishers Weekly

“Myles is a big deal, a rock star, sort of like the Patti Smith of contemporary poetry. . . . Myles is relentlessly casual, and even joyful. Myles has a good time journeying through Hell, and like a hip Virgil, is happy to show us the way.” - NPR.org

“It is a rare thing when someone so cool is also so warm. Eileen Myles’s essential poetry is the hip kid leaning against their locker secretly burning with intensity, the smartest boy in the class who doesn’t care he has a scar down his face, the thing you just wish you’d said.” - Lena Dunham

“Read this, Eileen is epic!" - Kim Gordon

“Heroic, monolithic, pure.” - Alice Notely