It was at this moment that I saw light in my body"
-- The speaker ("Let Light Shine Out of Darkness")

Importance: This line gestures towards the possibility of the speaker reconciling with his alienated body. Metaphorically speaking, the speaker figures this dramatic situations in terms of light and dark; reconciliation amounts to light shining out of the darkness.

You love to write about this, don't you?"
-- The speaker ("The Performance of Becoming Human")

Importance: One of many metapoetic moments when the speaker calls attention to himself as the writer of these poems. Here we witness the speaker commenting on his predilection for describing grotesque scenes with mock incredulity; this incredulity belies a tinge of guilt, as well.

Write a sonnet or a villanelle about this experience / and do not use any adjectives."
-- The speaker ("In the Blazing Cities of Your Rotten Carcass Mouth" )

Importance: Here, the speaker-poet ironically uses the facile language of creative writing programs to indicate the moral vacuity of aestheticizing violence. This quote gestures towards the collection's decidedly "postmodern" aesthetic.

This is not an academic problem...
-- The speaker ("The Gross and Borderless Body")