“Sob Story: The History of Crying” by Allison Titus is an essayistic chronicle of crying. Ranging from depictions of weeping on ancient Syrian tablets to Rambo to crying workshops in contemporary Japan, Titus delivers a long poem about the exhibition of emotion that links all of us together. Titus’s sharp mind and eye for detail are on full display as she catalogues what crying is, how it works, how it feels, what it means to society, and what it means to us all personally.

Allison Titus is the author of two books of poetry: The sum of every lost ship (Cleveland State University, 2010) and The True Book of Animal Homes (Saturnalia Books, 2017); two chapbooks: Instructions from the Narwhal (winner of the 1st annual Boom Chapbook Contest, Bateau Press, 2007) and Topography of Tears (Artifact Press, 2017); and a novel: The Arsonist's Song Has Nothing to Do with Fire (Etruscan Press, 2014). She's the recipient of an NEA fellowship in poetry, and currently teaches in the low-res MFA program at New England College.

Originally produced in 2018 with letterpress cover on Khadi cotton paper. Hand-bound in an edition of 100.