Sensorium Ex: An Opera in Verse by Brenda Shaughnessy

Sensorium Ex: An Opera in Verse

$22.00
Sale price  $22.00 Regular price 
Skip to product information
Sensorium Ex: An Opera in Verse by Brenda Shaughnessy

Knopf Publishing Group

Sensorium Ex: An Opera in Verse

$22.00
Sale price  $22.00 Regular price 
In stock
In this dystopian tale of a near-future society increasingly threatened by all-consuming AI, a scientist mother and her disabled son rebel against the corporate larceny of their selves, by an award-winning poet ("Stirring. . . . Wildly inventive and sharp to an edge" --Los Angeles Review of Books)

In this story of the scientist DR. MEM and KITSUNE, her nonambulatory, non-speaking son, the pair fight CORP, a mega-company developing the most powerful AI robot ever conceived. What MEM learns is that CORP seeks "To give the robot something real. / What it can fake but not make: / mercy, compassion. Trust and love." That is, CORP hopes to harvest and own not just their employees' personal data but their thoughts, memories, and their sensory experiences, in order to build a robot that will contain all that is and ever was human, and replace the need for humans themselves.

This swift drama, which unfolds in a libretto/ script format, with dialogue in Shaughnessy's accessible and blistering verse, shows how MEM and her coworkers fight to save their individuality from being vacuumed up. A Greek-style chorus reflects on the state of a world where "taking leave of our senses" becomes a serious and quite literal threat, as MEM struggles to fulfill her singular role in fighting the high-tech of corrupt capitalism. At the center of this all-too-relevant speculative drama burns MEM's most powerful weapon against the forces of AI darkness: a mother's love.
Book Details
Publisher:
Knopf Publishing Group
ISBN:
9781524712884
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
112
Authors:
Brenda Shaughnessy
Published Date:
2026-07-21
Language:
English
Shipping

Ships directly to you from our US distribution partner. US delivery only.

Usually ships within 1–2 days.

Estimated total time for this book on its own:

  • Economy 4–10 days (usually about a week)
  • Expedited 3–7 days
  • Priority 2–6 days

Orders with more than one book may arrive in separate deliveries. Pre-orders always ship separately once the book is released.

Returns

We offer a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return. To be eligible for a return, your item must be in the same condition that you received it: new, unworn or unused, and in its original packaging. See details on our Return & Refund policy.

You may also like

If any information on The Poetry Shop contains an error that requires correction, please contact info@thepoetryshop.com