Crunchwrap Truth, by Kevin J.B. O'Connor

Poetry, chapbook, 24 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

In Crunchwrap Truth, Kevin J.B. O'Connor presents a collection of poems that traverse the terrain of late-capitalist absurdity with intellect, wit, and unexpected pathos. At once satirical and sincere, these poems interrogate contemporary American life through a lens that is both culturally saturated and sharply self-aware. O'Connor's voice is conversational yet cerebral, weaving together pop-cultural allusions, philosophical inquiry, and the language of everyday survival. Whether referencing Harold Bloom, fast food epiphanies, or spectral memories of love and failure, the poet positions himself at the crux of irony and vulnerability. What emerges is a richly textured poetics that draws influence from the New York School, postmodern lyricism, and political disillusionment.

Crunchwrap Truth is a debut that resists easy categorization, reveling instead in its own contradictions—playful and elegiac, digressive yet grounded, skeptical and spiritually inquisitive. It is a compelling addition to the growing archive of 21st-century poetic resistance.

Kevin J.B. O'Connor received his MFA from Old Dominion University, an MA from Tulane University, and a BA from Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Lexington, KY.