{"id":171753,"date":"2025-09-23T10:00:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T14:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=171753"},"modified":"2025-09-22T12:38:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T16:38:13","slug":"party-in-the-u-s-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2025\/09\/23\/party-in-the-u-s-a\/","title":{"rendered":"Party in the USA"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

FROM JOSH SMITH’S DINOSAURS<\/a><\/em>, A PORTFOLIO THAT APPEARED IN THE WINTER 2024 ISSUE OF THE PARIS REVIEW.<\/em> ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY FARZAD OWRANG, COURTESY OF JOSH SMITH.<\/p><\/div>\n

After a while English departs and you
\nFind yourself in a realm. Like the Wild Boy
\nReaching for a potato in the mirror.
\nSomeone was holding it behind his head.
\nHe never stopped to let it cool but made
\nLittle cries to indicate it was burning him.
\nStill, it was his favorite food. After an hour
\nOf reading out loud your carefulness
\nIs mere sound, the city you have built
\nWhistles. Between chapters I wrapped up
\nAnd shivered, did not eat, so I could go on
\nSpeaking what seemed the whole language
\nAt once: tongue twisters, all observation.
\n\u201cParty in the U.S.A.\u201d was recorded in that booth,
\nHer platinum record hung on the wall.
\nActive shooter in my building, Mary texted,
\nJust as we broke to stretch. Fucking America,
\nWe said, and settled in to read the father
\nChapter. The Wild Boy would be cared for
\nBy a priest, later, but first, a school
\nGardener. Scenery on the way to Paris
\nDid not impress him, he caught a light
\nCase of smallpox, and insisted on having
\nHis potato next to him at all times.
\nThere are feats that seem impossible
\nJust before and after: 8,000 signatures,
\nBeing alive. You cannot think about page
\nNumbers, your hunger, or Baby Peck,
\nHysterical, trying to climb into your sister\u2019s
\nDesk with a bottle of bourbon, to hide.
\nThey are locked down, quiet, texting.
\nWhy had it felt so urgent to be heard?
\nHold on, baby, I said, and Paul:
\n\u201cI once had an RPG shot at me
\nWhile dancing to \u2018Party in the U.S.A.\u2019 \u201d
\nWe waited for word: OK, they got him.
\nAnd waited for word: I hate it here.
\n\u201cThe boy had grown quite fat now,
\nLoved to be tickled, laughed easily,
\nAnd apparently dreamed while asleep.\u201d
\nThey were saddened that he cared only
\nFor his own survival, nourishment.
\nYou could not die with your potato
\nNext to you, a potato meant one more day.
\nLittle clouds breathed out\u2014cry cry!\u2014
\nAnd there were jagged peaks.
\nOh, it was all painful, mealy, wonderful.
\nHow it contained\u2014hot hot!\u2014all
\nCustom, rivers of butter, green chives
\nOf trees, a gardener who had promised
\nHim a new home if he ever needed one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Patricia<\/span> Lockwood is the author of five books, including the novel<\/em> Will There Ever Be Another You.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAfter a while English departs and you find yourself in a realm.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2619,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68562],"tags":[24555,67827],"class_list":["post-171753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-about-poetry","tag-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nParty in the USA by Patricia Lockwood<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"September 23, 2025 \u2013 \u201cAfter a while English departs and you find yourself in a realm.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2025\/09\/23\/party-in-the-u-s-a\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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