Dear Poetry: Welcome to the 21st Century. Brandon Scott Gorrell, among the first writers to make his name entirely through Internet publication, has made the leap to publishing with his first book of poems, care of Muumuu House. Gorrell’s first book of poems, “During My Nervous Breakdown I Want to Have a Biographer Present,” compiles 37 poems published across the blogosphere into something incredibly current.

If Gorrell’s poems come across sounding, well, apathetic, it’s because apathy (and a healthy dose of existential despair) is his muse. If you’ve ever spent a listless hour checking the same four Web sites over and over again, you will probably find something in this poetry that feels familiar. Like the pangs of love that have led many a tortured soul to the pen, Gorrell’s poetry is anchored throughout by something genuine and real. Unlike conventional bards, the author is driven by heavy sarcasm, self-loathing, brooding fantasies of senseless violence, and the glue that holds melodrama together: a sense of humor.

The book begins with “A List of Potential Poem Titles,” which essentially cobbles together lines from throughout the book into one fractured non-poem. This gives you the Brandon Scott Gorrell style with two barrels, while also poking fun at his own pathos:

i’m going to take a bath in 13 gallons of warm coffee

i wish my face was a giant floating emoticon

you will sleep with a pillow between your legs and i will

remember that while stabbing an entire continent

i want to close my eyes and disappear forever completely

From here, the reader can take it or leave it, and whoever chooses to read on will be rewarded. One of the best poems in the book, “Face Annihilation,” underscores the political and personal side of his position in the world, reaching a ringing fever pitch comparable only to the frenzy of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.” It’s the type of poem that you get caught up in, reading so fast that you don’t think about anything but the blunt force of the lines.

What makes Gorrell stand out from others is his range – working in areas as diverse as narrative poems, haiku (sans temple bells and plum blossoms) and science fiction. These poems are placed into a sequence that well captures the range of his ennui, while still making it part of the gimmick. “Anxiety!” “Low Self-Confidence!” “Alienation!” are promised on the back of the book, and the reader gets their money’s worth.

In poetry, we’ve come to expect that poets are only original if they experiment with language, convey the reality of city streets, or any other cliché. Brandon Scott Gorrell offers very little of that, which is refreshing. Though his best work is likely still in front of him, if he can continue to make despondency this surprising and funny, I can sleep well about how the Internet and literature will fare in the next few years or so.