In Night of the Prom (Thirteenth Tiger Press), four authors offer original takes on the prom tradition in poetry and prose. Jennifer Lovegrove’s poem is a punk take on prom, the experience of high school freaks imbuing this event with their own meaning. Her narrator is an outcast, dissatisfied with the narrow existence of high school, but full of confidence in her future.

In Kate Sutherland’s “After Grad,” the event is peripheral and almost meaningless, just another chance for characters to negotiate risky and tenuous relationships. Brian Panhuyzen’s “Promise Night” brings to life a girl disenchanted with her creepy high school boyfriend and intrigued by the mysterious foreign kid who saves her night despite the threat of violence in his home.

This small, elegant chapbook brings alternative voices to the clichéd tradition of prom night.