"To enter the pages of Lacquer is a Thrilling Word is to walk inside the wild and wonderful, kaleidoscopically shape-shifting mind of Barrie Cole..." - Alison Luterman
The poems and works in Lacquer is a Thrilling Word explore unconventional forms such as fortune cookie fortunes, drive-thru orders, and to-do lists. They find pleasure in the mundane and ridiculous while reveling in permission, attention, and the sublimity of language. There are run-on sentence poems, including one about assembling new varieties of mushrooms. There is a poem about angelwatching (as opposed to birds) and another about wanting to be a painting.
Barrie Cole is a critically acclaimed Chicago-based writer who has written more than 15 plays including Reality is an Activity, Capacity, Meaning is Tricky, Reverse Gossip, Elevator Tours, and Fruit Tree Backpack along with numerous poems, essays, monologues and hybrid works. Lacquer is a Thrilling Word is her first book, available for preorder in January 2026.
Barrie Cole is a critically acclaimed Chicago-based writer who has written more than 15 plays including Reality is an Activity, Capacity, Meaning is Tricky, Reverse Gossip, Elevator Tours, and Fruit Tree Backpack along with numerous poems, essays, monologues and hybrid works. Lacquer is a Thrilling Word is her first book, available for preorder in January 2026.
Interested in hosting a reading? Contact Barrie here.