A new volume of poetic works by the Pulitzer Prize finalist and National Book Award-winning author of Brutal Imagination reflects on such topics as his transition from urban renter to non-plussed rural homeowner, the sobering influence of war, and the intimation of the writer's own mortality. Simultaneous.
Finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry Brutal Imagination is the work of a poet at the peak of his considerable powers, confronting a crucial subject: the black man in America. “A hymn to all the sons this country has stolen from her African-American families.”—The Village Voice This poetry collection explores the vision of the black man in white imagination, as well as the black family and the barriers of color, class, and caste that tear it apart. These two main themes showcase Cornelius Eady’s range: his deft wit, inventiveness, and skillfully targeted anger, and the way in which he combines the subtle with the charged, street idiom with elegant inversions, harsh images with the sweetly ordinary. Includes poems that inspired the libretto for Eady’s music-drama Running Man, a 1999 Pulitzer Prize finalist.
We feature poems, short fiction and nonfiction by Cornelius Eady, Joy Harjo, TR Hummer, Karen Brennan, Cynthia Hogue, Patricia Spears Jones, Isaac Black, Julia Bouwsma, Melissa Tuckey, Sarah Browning, Teresa Mei Chuc, Aliki Barnstone, Demetria Martinez, Peggy Shumaker, Brenda Peterson, Nayantara Roy, Heather Cahoon & more. Edited by Pamela Uschuk
Cave Canem presents the best African American poetry, featuring over 200 popular and critically acclaimed Cave Canem poets including Paul Beatty, Claudia Rankine, Willie Perdomo, Tracy K. Smith, Nikki Giovanni, Terrance Haynes, among others. In celebration of Cave Canem’s twentieth anniversary, the renowned foundation presents this noteworthy anthology featuring the best contemporary African American poetry from over 200 beloved poets. Highlighting Cave Canem’s indelible impact on the American poetry scene, The Beautiful, Needful Thing will contain selections from Cave Canem poets who have published a book and/or won prestigious awards—a few of which include the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Whiting Writers Award, the Poetry Society of America Frost Medal, MacArthur Fellowship—in its twenty-year history. Contributors include: Elizabeth Alexander, Paul Beatty, Terrance Hayes, Claudia Rankine, Tracy K. Smith, Kevin Young, Major Jackson, Nikky Finney Tyehimba Jess, Willie Perdomo, Patricia Smith, Natasha Tretheway, Afaa M. Weaver, Yusef Komunyakaa, Tim Seibles, Vievee Frances, Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, Greg Pardlo, Jericho Brown, A. Van Jordan, Sharan Strange, Carl Phillips, Rita Dove, Harryette Mullen, Marilyn Nelson, Lucillie Clifton, Michael S. Harper, Kyle Dargan, Camille T. Dungy, Dawn Lundy Martin, Reginal Dwayne Betts, Tara Betts, Mahogany Brown, CM Burroughs, Eisa Davis, and Ross Gay among others. With a foreword and afterword by Cornelius Eady, The Beautiful, Needful Thing is a comprehensive compilation of the finest in contemporary African American poetry and an addition all poetry aficionados will want in their libraries.
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