Summary

"Maintenance" is a two-page chapbook written in the style of a numbered list, and narrated from the point of view of an ambiguous speaker. The list is comprised of 26 points. Each point details a rather mundane task, yet as the list ascends in number, the point becomes more metaphysical. For example, "Maintenance" begins with "1. Water the earth" and "2. Polish the steel circles and squares." The theme of domesticity continues for a while; point 7 reads "Replace the actual oilcan with a plastic one from hardware store," while point 13 reads "Hang the portraits only on the special $1000 wallpaper then destroy also destroy any scraps." But following point 17, the list devolves into a series of complicated questions and responses, without punctuation, much like the preceding chapbook, "Powerless Structures Fig. II (Sanne)." These questions range from such mundane inquiries as "Do threads slacken" to such complicated wonderings as...