Contemporary Novel

As my contemporary American novel I chose The Voice at 3:00 A.M. which is a compilation of selected poems written by Charles Simic. He is an American poet and has even had his own type of poetry named after him called the "Simic Poem" because he follows now specific patterns as he writes. He writes about nearly everything and anything that would affect the average American in their daily lives.
His book The Voice at 3:00 A.M. helps to answer the essential question "what/ who is the Quintessential American?" because he writes from the viewpoint of the quintessential American. His poems are generally about how the average American feels about everyday events and experiences. He does not appear to approach many of these topics from a sardonic perspective but from more of a serious viewpoint as though he is really trying to capture the mind of the quintessential American on paper using only a pen as a tool.
His poem subject matters within the book vary between the different occurrences in an Americans life. He has poems about school, childhood, love, lust, religion, factories, toys, friends, lovers, food, libraries, animals, hotels, transportation, mirrors, children that are wiser than their years, etc. There are 177 poems compiled within this book describing the ordinary daily lives of Americans and all of their average encounters. To read a poem within this book could be compared to doing a puzzle. His words are like riddles but he provides you with all of the necessary tools to decode them. He is rather brilliant and his book falls right in sync with our essential questions.