Catherine Cohen's New Book "God I Feel Modern Tonight: Poems From A Gal About Town" Is Everything I Needed
Catherine Cohen "God I Feel Modern Tonight" cover
Catherine Cohen is the patron saint of horny sad girls who live in Brooklyn apartments without central air.
She is amorphously famous in a way only a millennial could be: She can best be described as a comedian/podcast host/writer/content creator.
I was first introduced to her via the weekly cabaret she hosts at Alan Cumming's East Village venue, Club Cumming. Her style of comedy is theatrical almost to the point of surrealism, while somehow still managing to be deeply relatable. She comes off a little like Liza Minnelli if Liza Minnelli were self-aware, mostly wore thrifted blouses, and had a recurring yeast infection.
Many young people also know her from her Twitter, which is a further extension of her deeply distinctive voice. She's among the ranks of online comedians like Meg Stalter, JT Firstman, Natalie Walker, and Pat Regan, known for their observational humor and short videos.
Now, fans of Cat Cohen can delve even deeper into the New York icon's chaotic mind. Cohen recently released a book of poems, titled God I Feel Modern Tonight: Poems From A Gal About Town, the voice of which her website describes as, "A self-proclaimed self-obsessed millennial on the prowl with her beaded bag, she ponders guys who call you 'dude' after sex, English-major dreams, true love during the pandemic, and other weighty matters in these captivating short lyrics."
The book is certainly funny but — perhaps as a surprise to casual fans of Cohen's — often heartbreaking. I frequently found myself thinking, "Oh I didn't know anyone else felt that way," the deeply unoriginal reaction that all great art elicits.
Stand out lines include:
"I had a dream I f**ked Eminem 'reverse cowgirl' style
on a beach in another country
If I die i want to be surrounded by everyone I love
and as I breathe my last breath
I'll ask everyone if my hair looks better
Half up
Or full down"
And:
"I felt so serious spelling out I Love You.
(and putting a period at the end)
so you would know I really meant it
I only meant it because I was lonely
but I don't see at all why that wouldn't count"
All in all, the book is a stirring portrait of the millennial generation's mixture of ennui and desperate desire for love, as well as a testament to the curtain of irony people raise on Twitter to hide their vulnerability. While it might be an exaggeration to call Cat Cohen the voice of our generation, it doesn't feel far off to call her one of the most magnetic prophets of the end times.
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