American journal : fifty poems for our time Cover Image

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American journal : fifty poems for our time / selected and with an introduction by Tracy K. Smith.

Smith, Tracy K., (editor,, writer of introduction.).

Summary:

"American Journal presents fifty contemporary poems that explore and celebrate our country and our lives. Poet Laureate of the United States and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy K. Smith has gathered a remarkable chorus of voices that ring up and down the registers of American poetry. In the elegant arrangement of this anthology, we hear stories from rural communities and urban centers, laments of loss in war and in grief, experiences of immigrants, outcries at injustices, and poems that honor elders, evoke history, and praise our efforts to see and understand one another. Taking its title from a poem by Robert Hayden, the first African American appointed as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, American Journal investigates our time with curiosity, wonder, and compassion. Among the fifty poets included are: Jericho Brown, Eduardo C. Corral, Natalie Diaz, Matthew Dickman, Mark Doty, Ross Gay, Aracelis Girmay, Joy Harjo, Terrance Hayes, Cathy Park Hong, Marie Howe, Major Jackson, Ilya Kaminsky, Robin Coste Lewis, Ada Limón, Layli Long Soldier, Erika L. Sánchez, Solmaz Sharif, Danez Smith, Susan Stewart, Mary Szybist, Natasha Trethewey, Brian Turner, Charles Wright, and Kevin Young."-- (Source of summary not specified).

This anthology explores and celebrates the United States and the lives of those who live there.

Record details

ISBN: 9781555978389
ISBN: 155597838X
ISBN: 9781555978150
ISBN: 1555978150
Physical Description: 120 pages ; 19 cm
Publisher: Minneapolis, Minnesota : Graywolf Press, in association with the Library of Congress, [2018]

Content descriptions

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction: This is why by Tracy K. Smith -- The small town of my youth. "Second estrangement" by Aracelis Girmay -- "In defense of small towns" by Oliver de la Paz -- "N'em" by Jericho Brown -- "Flat as a flitter" by Melissa Range -- "Sugar and brine: Ella's understanding" by Vievee Francis -- "The field trip" by Ellen Bryant Voigt -- "Mighty pawns" by Major Jackson -- from "summer, somewhere" by Danez Smith -- "Walking home" by Marie Howe -- "Music from childhood" by John Yau -- "Girls overheard while assembling a puzzle" by Mary Szybist -- "Passing" by Charif Shanahan -- Something shines out from every darkness. "'Let me tell you about my marvelous god'" by Susan Stewart -- "Sister as moving object" by Jan Beatty -- from "The split" by Susan Wheeler -- "The hypno-domme speaks, and speaks and speaks" by Patricia Lockwood -- "The poet at fifteen" by Erika L. Sanchez -- "My brother at 3 am" by Natalie Diaz -- "Reverse suicide" by Matt Rasmussen -- "Charlottesville nocturne" by Charles Wright -- "Downhearted" by Ada Limon -- "becoming a horse" by Ross Gay -- "After the diagnosis" by Christian Wiman -- "Heart/mind" by Laura Kasischke -- Words tangled in debris. "Who's who" by Cathy Park Hong -- "Minimum wage" by Matthew Dickman -- "Proximities" by Lia Purpura -- "Story of girls" by Tina Chang -- "Fourth grade autobiography" by Donika Kelly -- "No" by Joy Harjo -- "The long deployment" by Jehanne Dubrow -- from "Personal effects" by Solmaz Sharif -- "We lived happily during the war" by Ilya Kaminsky -- "Phantom noise" by Brian Turner -- "Ten drumbeats to God" by Nathalie Handal -- Here, the sentence will be respected. "38" by Layli Long Soldier -- One singing thing. "Elegy" by Natasha Trethewey -- "Object Permanence" by Nicole Sealey -- "Crowning" by Kevin Young -- "Requiem for fifth period and the things that went on then" by Eve L. Ewing -- "Dear P." by Victoria Chang -- "Lines for little Mila" by Norman Dubie -- "Mercy" by Patrick Phillips -- "Apparition" by Mark Doty -- "At Pegasus" by Terrance Hayes -- "Scorch marks" by Dara Wier -- "Dog talk" by robin Coste Lewis -- "Romanticism 101" by Dean Young -- "For the last American buffalo" by Steve Scafidi.