DREAMING OF NORTH BEACH (FROM CORPORATE AMERICA)

A self-described “company hack,” Gell immerses readers in a startup scene, where colleagues waste time with Nerf guns and pingpong battles. He judges his boss for chowing down on Lucky Charms while lecturing him about quotas in “This Man’s in Charge?” “The Value of a College Education” critiques the predatory nature of student loans and universities’ failure to share which majors generate “serious” income. Readers learn in “Who Is Your Master” that an MBA only makes one overqualified and underpaid. “Working Stiffs” finds the speaker reminiscing about his college days and longing for a greasy spoon called the Breakfast Buzz where “When the bill comes, / you only owe $27 / and you can’t feel your fucking legs!” The speaker finds some relief in a cabin in the redwoods in “West Marin, In Us All,” taking pleasure in “a hot shower, / a strong gummy, / pizza, / some good red.” Aging concerns arise in “Lines” when wrinkles appear and his beard starts graying. In “Slide Through Your Hands,” a divorce prompts the author to conclude “Love is cruel, / love is elusive,” yet he later ponders who his next love might be in “The Search Continues.” Gell deftly takes down corporate culture in this incisive poetry collection. Depictions of open-office hell are relatably conveyed, including overenthusiastic middle managers, pointless meetings, and the feeling that “lunch is always too short.” “Corporate America #2” is an entertaining list of oft-repeated workplace phrases, such as “You’re on mute.” However, some poems, like “Preventative Health,” about the author’s self-care strategies, seem outside of the book’s theme, while others (“Stop Trying So Hard”) read like stand-alone rants. Ultimately, Gell’s vulnerability humanizes the narrative, like a divorce poem in which, “The tears finally come— / a soft patter on the hardwood / of the soulless bedroom / that once had / hope.”