Playing House

A deck of cards with a collage on one side and prose poems on the reverse, laid out on a black surface.

Playing House, a deck of playing cards, laid out on a black surface.

Taking the form of a deck of cards, Playing House, a collaboration between poet Carley Gomez and book artist Levi Sherman, encourages the reader to embrace a non-traditional reading experience. Gomez and Sherman describe the book as “a non-linear collection of moments from the life of the protagonist as he struggles to reconcile his past—a failed marriage, a complicated childhood, and the necessity of keeping up appearances—with his new life as an openly gay man in a tumultuous relationship. Fifty-two cards, which can be read in any order, feature prose poetry on one side and collage on the reverse.” The collage uses wallpaper patterns from the 1950s to “the reference the facade of domesticity and the fragmented patchwork of identity.”

Carley Gomez and Levi Sherman. Playing House. Chicago, 2014.

Colorful playing cards fanned out in an arc, with two cards flipped reverse side up.

Colorful playing cards fanned out on a black surface.

Playing cards printed with prose poems fanned out in an arc.

Playing cards fanned out poem-side up.

Five playing cards on a black surface, laid out face up and printed with prose poems.

Five playing cards poem-side-up next to a face-down stack.