© 2018, Text by Max Ritvo

      © 2018, Editor’s Note by Louise Glück

      All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.

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      Published 2018 by Milkweed Editions

      Printed in Canada

      Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker

      Author photo by Ashley Woo

      18 19 20 21 22 5 4 3 2 1

       First Edition

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       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

       Names: Ritvo, Max, 1990-2016, author. | Gluck, Louise, 1943- editor.

       Title: The final voicemails / Max Ritvo ; edited by Louise Gluck.

       Description: Minneapolis : Milkweed Editions, 2018.

       Identifiers: LCCN 2017058089 (print) | LCCN 2018000244 (ebook) | ISBN 9781571319906 (ebook) | ISBN 9781571315113 (cloth : acid-free paper)

       Classification: LCC PS3618.I8 (ebook) | LCC PS3618.I8 A6 2018 (print) | DDC 811/.6--dc23

       LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017058089

      Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endangered forests and conserve natural resources. The Final Voicemails was printed on acid-free 100% post-consumer-waste paper by Friesens Corporation.

      CONTENTS

        Title Page

        Copyright

        Editor’s Note

       I. THE FINAL VOICEMAILS

      1  The Final Voicemails

      2  The Soundscape of Life Is Charred by Tiny Bonfires

      3  Delphi

      4  Quiet Romance

      5  Earthquake Country before Final Chemotherapy

      6  My Bathtub Pal

      7  Amuse-Bouche

      8  My New Friend

      9  Uncle Needle

      10  Dinner in Los Angeles, Raining in July

      11  Anatomic and Hydraulic Chastity

      12  Your Next Date Alone

      13  Nobody Asked Anything

      14  Down with the Landlord

      15  December 29

      16  Tuesday

      17  Name My Time of Death and See What I Do to You

      18  Cachexia

      19  Boy Goes to War

      20  Centaur Music

      21  Leisure-Loving Man Suffers Untimely Death

       II. MAMMALS

      1  Lajuwa Forgets How to Love

      2  Troy

      3  Bustan

      4  Mom Myth

      5  Broad Spectrum Romance Novel

      6  Sheol

      7  Too