American Smooth: Poems

American Smooth: PoemsAn occasion to celebrate: a new collection by the Pulitzer Prize winning former poet laureate; her first since On the Bus with Rosa Parks. With the grace of an Astaire, Rita Dove's magnificent poems pay homage to our kaleidoscopic cultural heritage; from the glorious shimmer of an operatic soprano to Bessie Smith's mournful wail; from paradise lost to angel food cake; from hotshots at the local shooting range to the Negro jazz band in World War I

An occasion to celebrate: a new collection by the Pulitzer Prize-winning former poet laureate; her first since On the Bus with Rosa Parks. With the grace of an Astaire, Rita Dove's magnificent poems pay homage to our kaleidoscopic cultural heritage; from the glorious shimmer of an operatic soprano to Bessie Smith's mournful wail; from paradise lost to angel food cake; from hotshots at the local shooting range to the Negro jazz band in World War I whose music conquered Europe before the Allied advance. Like the ballroom-dancing couple of the title poem, smiling and making the difficult seem effortless, Dove explores the shifting surfaces between perception and intimation.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 02/17/2006
ISBN: 9780393327441
Pages: 143
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 8.24h x 5.56w x 0.41d

Review Citations: New York Times 03/12/2006 pg. 32
Kliatt 05/01/2006 pg. 29