Utilizing Joe Brainard’s prose form of I Remember, this work recalls a period from one of the peaks of the War on Drugs. Set in Central Florida in the late 80’s, this book details being institutionalized in Straight Inc. Straight was one of many infamous “tough love” inpatient drug rehabs which sprung up in the 80’s. Straight was inevitably shut down by the state due to persistent (accurate) allegations of abuse.
This book also details an escape from Central Florida.
From the afterward “Free Union” by Cedar Sigo:
Florida Damage Report makes it seem that just by admitting our faults they will disappear. Alternate titles that came to mind when reading this work included I Remember Florida and I Remember Humans.
This form will turn somber in the hands of someone incarcerated. Suddenly their whole life tends to be read in reverse, as if every entry is leading up to the point of confinement. But then the form also remains helplessly locked in the past. Parts of this book feel like watching grainy, silent surveillance videos against your will in an empty room - blinding fluorescent lights. It also toys with exposé “contorted and painful truth” to quote the poet John Wieners.
Frank remembers episodes that would have long since blurred for most of us. He recalls his first few acid trips with a marked lucidity and permanent openness. The ‘I Remember’ form always covers more ground than one might think, it can be a way of casting a piece of writing as one does a sculpture or bust, In Frank’s book I can feel a beautifully bronzed bed of nails at work.
“I remember finally arriving home and going to my bedroom. It felt wonderful to be in my room amongst all my things. I laid in my bed and felt the residue of the salt air on my skin. I watched all sorts of television and loved the way it illuminated the ceiling of my bedroom. I stayed up all night. A new and incredible peace washed over me, a feeling I’ve never forgotten.”
2017
5.5 x 8.5 inches
80 pages
Black and white photocopy with color cover
Third edition of 200 copies