Twenty Poems That Could Save America and Other Essays

Twenty Poems That Could Save America and Other Essays

Author: Tony Hoagland

Publisher: Graywolf Press

Published: 2014-11-04

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 1555973299

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A fearless, wide-ranging book on the state of poetry and American literary culture by Tony Hoagland, the author of What Narcissism Means to Me Live American poetry is absent from our public schools. The teaching of poetry languishes, and that region of youthful neurological terrain capable of being ignited only by poetry is largely dark, unpopulated, and silent, like a classroom whose shades are drawn. This is more than a shame, for poetry is our common treasure-house, and we need its vitality, its respect for the subconscious, its willingness to entertain ambiguity, its plaintive truth-telling, and its imaginative exhibitions of linguistic freedom, which confront the general culture's more grotesque manipulations. We need the emotional training sessions poetry conducts us through. We need its previews of coming attractions: heartbreak, survival, failure, endurance, understanding, more heartbreak. —from "Twenty Poems That Could Save America" Twenty Poems That Could Save America presents insightful essays on the craft of poetry and a bold conversation about the role of poetry in contemporary culture. Essays on the "vertigo" effects of new poetry give way to appraisals of Robert Bly, Sharon Olds, and Dean Young. At the heart of this book is an honesty and curiosity about the ways poetry can influence America at both the private and public levels. Tony Hoagland is already one of this country's most provocative poets, and this book confirms his role as a restless and perceptive literary and cultural critic.


Somebody Blew Up America, & Other Poems

Somebody Blew Up America, & Other Poems

Author: Amiri Baraka

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780913441725

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Poetry. African American Studies. "The publication of Amiri Baraka's SOMEBODY BLEW UP AMERICA & OTHER POEMS makes one more mark in the development in modern Black radical & revolutionary cultural reconstruction... Readers of course will want as quick as possible to read for them-self the now controversial title poem..., but check-out, among the others, "In Town"--pure-pure dark post-Plantation molasses..."--Kamau Brathwaite.


History and Other Poems

History and Other Poems

Author: Brenda Marie Osbey

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781568091792

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Poetry. African American Studies. HISTORY AND OTHER POEMS takes as its task nothing less than an examination and mapping of the never-ending evil of history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the still-palpable effects of European and American colonialism some seven centuries after the making of the New World. Making, breaking and rebuilding language and languages to suit the needs of her characters and the worlds they struggle to survive in and against, Brenda Marie Osbey has created a compelling study of human will and the determination to wrest life and liberty from destinies long ago written out of history as we know it. Aided by an extensive glossary and notes, this volume takes the reader on a series of gruesome journeys across the Americas, from Columbus's first encounter with the Guanahani Indians to the author's native New Orleans, trailing violence, destruction and oppression with every step, marking the geography of evil on the map of this New World. HISTORY AND OTHER POEMS moves from present to past and back again to reveal the trauma of hearts and lives broken even as it underscores the heroic endurance, resilience and agency of the enslaved and their descendants.


America and Other Poems

America and Other Poems

Author: J. M. Whitfield

Publisher: Graphic Arts Books

Published: 2021-05-21

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 1513287621

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America and Other Poems (1853) is a book of poems by J.M. Whitfield. Published while the poet was working as a barber in Buffalo, New York, America and Other Poems captures his sense of poetic form while expressing his belief in the abolition of slavery. In these odes, hymns, and prayers, Whitfield established his reputation as a pioneering African American poet, an impassioned voice for his people who tirelessly sought to change the course of history with his words. “The North Star,” which concludes the collection, was written for Frederick Douglass’ abolitionist newspaper The North Star, that “guard of truth and liberty” for all. “The writer of the following pages is a poor colored man of this city, engaged in the humble, yet honorable and useful occupation of a barber.” In the introduction to his debut book of poems, J.M. Whitfield proudly and directly asserts his identity. Although he does not fit in with the traditional figure of the poet, Whitfield proves his mastery of form while condemning slavery in the strongest terms. “America” opens the collection with a direct address to the nation “from whence has issued many a band / To tear the black man from his soil, / And force him here to delve and toil”: “America, it is to thee, / Thou boasted land of liberty,— / It is to thee I raise my song, / Thou land of blood, and crime, and wrong.” Without fear, Whitfield questions the moral and political promise of a nation built by slaves. He demands through song and prayer the advent of a day when to “north and south, and east and west, / The wrongs we bear shall be redressed.” With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of J.M Whitfield’s America and Other Poems is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.


101 Great American Poems

101 Great American Poems

Author: The American Poetry & Literacy Project

Publisher: Courier Corporation

Published: 2012-04-04

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 0486110265

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Rich treasury of verse from the 19th and 20th centuries includes works by Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, T. S. Eliot, other notables.


Americans' Favorite Poems

Americans' Favorite Poems

Author: Robert Pinsky

Publisher: W. W. Norton

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 9780393048209

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A collection of favorite poems sent in by thousands of Americans, with selections ranging from Shakespeare to Allen Ginsberg, includes comments from normal readers on how the poems affect them.


It's Hard to Be a Black Man in America and Other African American Poems

It's Hard to Be a Black Man in America and Other African American Poems

Author: Elroy Alister Esdaille

Publisher: Dorrance Publishing

Published: 2021-10-29

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13: 163661129X

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It's Hard to Be a Black Man in America and Other African American Poems By: Elroy Alister Esdaille This book examines the African-American experience from multiple perspectives and cannot be nailed down to any singular thematic presentation. By peering through the pages of time to current day, the book attempts to disclose the African-American experience in The United States, and it can be applied to other countries as well that once had former colonial designs and slave labor. Modern day America, for many Black people, can be said to be a sum total of its messy history of slavery and segregation, and the recalcitrant roots that still persist today. Life for many black men and women in America is extremely challenging for we have to negotiate systemic, and institutionalize racism on a daily basis, while simultaneously wrestling with issues of colorism and microaggressions that continue to pervade society. It’s difficult to understand the perspective of a black man or black woman in America without getting at least a glimpse into his or her insight about race relations and its impact on him or her. Many African Americans feel that the system is designed against them, but their racial concerns often fall on deaf ears. This book gives in-depth examinations about race in America and it asks questions about accountability through the stylist forms of the poems. As a Caribbean immigrant who migrated to The United States, Elroy Alister Esdaille’s experiences as a black man with race relations has at times been painful as he has experienced firsthand the ugliness of racism and how the system so often makes it extremely hard for many black men to strive and live with dignity and pride. He has watched how the stereotype of criminality has informed decisions made against black men like him, and how one must develop a will stronger than iron in order to survive. As he envisions his readers, it is his desire to speak to all truth seekers and world changers. Race is a messy topic that many people avoid, but it is his aim to confront the issues head-on and lay the foundation for honest and controversial conversations that could inspire meaningful change in society. He would not say he is attempting to enlighten anyone, but rather for people to find their true selves and push hard for the future that they want and deserve.


The Best Loved Poems of the American People

The Best Loved Poems of the American People

Author: Hazel Felleman

Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.

Published: 1936

Total Pages: 708

ISBN-13: 0385000197

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Contains over 575 of the most frequently requested poems in America, divided by subject and indexed by authors and first lines.


The FSG Book of Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry

The FSG Book of Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry

Author: Ilan Stavans

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2012-03-27

Total Pages: 769

ISBN-13: 0374533180

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Presents a diverse sample of twentieth century Latin American poems from eighty-four authors in Spanish, Portuguese, Ladino, Spanglish, and several indigenous languages with English translations on facing pages.


My America

My America

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 9780439372909

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A collection of poems evocative of seven geographical regions of the United States, including the Northeast, Southeast, Great Lakes, Plains, Mountain, Southwest, and Pacific Coast States.