A radically open and unrestrained text, an actual person in a concrete historical situation is a fragmented and meandering poem that captures what it feels like to be one person in a vast, overwhelming, crisis-ridden world. Generative rather than directive, the poem magnifies the small, overlooked moments in life; explores flickering thoughts, impressions, impulses; and wallows joyfully in unending confusion.

PRAISE FOR AN ACTUAL PERSON IN A CONCRETE HISTORICAL SITUATION

"I wish everyone would write like this -- direct, detached, and with unbridled purpose."

-ANDREW WEATHERHEAD, AUTHOR OF $50,000

In An Actual Person in a Concrete Historical Situation, Blake Middleton has funneled the ghost of David Markson through his peculiar, dry, witty lens. These are wondrous messages you might find on any street, messages from a reliable witness to our slow civilizational collapse.

-MARCUS PACTOR, AUTHOR OF BEGAT WHO BEGAT WHO BEGAT

A brief examination of hopelessness that doesn't wallow in hopelessness, that celebrates things in spite of their decay or futility. Middleton confronts the unique futility of poetry with a unique poetry of futility.

-ZAC SMITH, AUTHOR OF 50 BARN POEMS AND EVERYTHING IS TOTALLY FINE

Thank god for writers like Blake Middleton, who can transform life's unrelenting ennui into a really compelling, funny, enlightening, and occasionally downright heart-warming book. This book is a reminder that you exist, but beyond that, it will make you feel human again.

-BENJAMIN DEVOS, AUTHOR OF THE BAR IS LOW