"the complete poems of a mongrel" represents writer and humorist dorothy parker's life. "mongrel" is what she would title her biography.

this artist book takes all of the words her lifetime's worth of words and alphabetizes them. it explores the duality in her public vs. private life: the glory and fame of being a writer whose work is widely read vs. the tragedies in her life.

certain words are grayed out or deleted to allude to the trials she's experienced. here, the erasure of "child" commemorates her miscarriage and the gray "deaths" refers to her multiple attempts at suicide.

the gradual dimming of joy speaks to the depression she's suffered all her life.

her quips are also interspersed throughout the book in italics. 

"excuse my dust" is what she joked she would put on her epitaph.

the simple mass-produced look of the book pays tribute to her occupation and legacy as a writer.