Single

Michael Cobb is Professor of English at the University of Toronto. He is the author of God Hates Fags: The Rhetorics of Religious Violence, also published by New York University Press.

"Using the rhythms of banter, suggestion, and willful claims, even hyperbolic, assertive pronouncements, Cobb creates a unique vantage point from which to assess a remarkable topic, one he nearly makes his own. Loneliness has been much discussed of late, but singleness has not, not in this way. The result is an unforgettable mix of witty analysis of pop culture and a targeted dropping of deep, decisive anchors in a few canonical but unexpected texts. Most impressive, therefore, is Cobbs deployment of deft transitions that make his switches back and forth between and among discursive registers workand matter. With these artfully crafted links, Cobb guides the reader to each new perch. And if there is a unifying style that paradoxically lubricates and glues together his dynamics, I would call it conversational lyric: a personal tone and direct engagement of the reader that slightly slips that bond to slant past where you thought that Cobb was holding you." (Queer Theory) "The author offers a smart and stunning look at the 'moribund desperation' of coupledom." (Advocate.com) "Although the book is deliberately provocative, with its evocations of the couples 'steely, enduring logic' and 'toxic emotional restraints,' its most helpful to see Cobbs radical critique not as an ode to unattached monasticism but as suggestions for how the single perspectives solitude, privacy, and freedom can open up vistaseven in the lives of the happily coupled." (Publishers Weekly) "Singleis impressive because its focus is original and discreet and so is his arguments which center heavily on details, at times even the use of single words or on an interpretation." (Metapsychology)

• Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Bitter Table for One 11 The Inevitable Fatality of the Couple 412 The Probated Couple, or Our Polygamous Pioneers 693 The Shelter of Singles 1054 Welcome to the Desert of Me 157Notes 203Index 217About the Author 227