The Book of Delights

After using an old rocking chair to keep one bush in his garden from overshadowing another, Gay reflects on the number of “jenky” contraptions he has in his garden. Gay believes jenkiness is a class designation and is used by people who narrowly or recently escaped poverty. Gay learned jenkiness from his parents, who were mostly broke, couldn’t afford to replace things, and were forced to figure out alternative ways to keep their car running and house intact. While Gay doesn’t advocate for being broke, he does advocate for that kind of innovation, which only comes from deprivation.

Gay wanders around campus watching the soon-to-be-graduates posing for photos in their caps and gowns. He wonders what the average amount of photos taken per day of oneself is, and imagines it is more than one. He assumes that soon, the next generation will rebel against posing for photos and begin a new trend of posing like something else, which will then be stolen by brands and sold to the masses. As he reflects, he hears a sound like applause and finds a crow whacking its wings against the water in a creek. He takes this as a message to “take your head out of your ass and be glad” (158).