Bright Dead Things : Poems

Bright Dead Things examines the chaos that is life, the dangerous thrill of living in a world you know you have to leave one day, & the search to find something that is ultimately “disorderly, & marvellous, & ours.”A book of bravado & introspection, of 21st-century feminist swagger & harrowing terror & loss, this fourth collection considers how we build our identities out of place & human contact—tracing in intimate detail the various ways the speaker’s sense of self both shifts & perseveres as she moves from New York City to rural Kentucky, loses a dear parent, ages past the capriciousness of youth, & falls in love. Limon has often been a poet who wears her heart on her sleeve, but in these extraordinary poems that heart becomes a “huge beating genius machine” striving to embrace & understand the fullness of the present moment. “I am beautiful. I am full of love. I am dying,” the poet writes. Building on the legacies of forebears such as Frank O’Hara, Sharon Olds, & Mark Doty, Limon’s work is consistently generous & accessible - though every observed moment feels complexly thought, felt, & lived.°°° Ada Limón is the twenty-fourth US Poet Laureate & the author of The Hurting Kind, as well as five other collections of poems. These include The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award & was named a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, & Bright Dead Things, which was named a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, & the Kingsley Tufts Award. Limón is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, & her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, & American Poetry Review, among others. Born & raised in California, she now lives in Lexington, Kentucky. The National Book Award finalist. " Limn's poems are like fires: charring the page, but leaving a smoke that remains past the close of the book." #8212; The Millions Bright Dead Things examines the chaos that is life, the dangerous thrill of living in a world you know you have to leave one day, and the search to find something that is ultimately "disorderly, and marvelous, and ours." A book of bravado and introspection, of 21st century feminist swagger and harrowing terror and loss, this fourth collection considers how we build our identities out of place and human contact#8212;tracing in intimate detail the various ways the speaker's sense of self both shifts and perseveres as she moves from New York City to rural Kentucky, loses a dear parent, ages past the capriciousness of youth, and falls in love. Limn has often been a poet who wears her heart on her sleeve, but in these extraordinary poems that heart becomes a "huge beating genius machine" striving to embrace and understand the fullness of the present moment. "I am beautiful. I am full of love. I am dying," the poet writes. Building on the legacies of forebears such as Frank O'Hara, Sharon Olds, and Mark Doty, Limn's work is consistently generous and accessible#8212;though every observed moment feels complexly thought, felt, and lived. "These poems are, as my students might say, hella intimate. They are meticulously honed and gorgeously crafted."#8213; Huffington Post "Limn's work is destined to find a place with readers on the strength of her voice alone. Her intensity here is paradoxically set against the often slow burn of life in Kentucky, and the results will please readers."#8212; Flavorwire The National Book Award finalist. “ Limón’s poems are like fires: charring the page, but leaving a smoke that remains past the close of the book.” — The Millions Bright Dead Things examines the chaos that is life, the dangerous thrill of living in a world you know you have to leave one day, and the search to find something that is ultimately “disorderly, and marvelous, and ours.” A book of bravado and introspection, of 21st century feminist swagger and harrowing terror and loss, this fourth collection considers how we build our identities out of place and human contact—tracing in intimate detail the various ways the speaker’s sense of self both shifts and perseveres as she moves from New York City to rural Kentucky, loses a dear parent, ages past the capriciousness of youth, and falls in love. Limón has often been a poet who wears her heart on her sleeve, but in these extraordinary poems that heart becomes a “huge beating genius machine” striving to embrace and understand the fullness of the present moment. “I am beautiful. I am full of love. I am dying,” the poet writes. Building on the legacies of forebears such as Frank O’Hara, Sharon Olds, and Mark Doty, Limón’s work is consistently generous and accessible—though every observed moment feels complexly thought, felt, and lived. “These poems are, as my students might say, hella intimate. They are meticulously honed and gorgeously crafted.”― Huffington Post “Limón’s work is destined to find a place with readers on the strength of her voice alone. Her intensity here is paradoxically set against the often slow burn of life in Kentucky, and the results will please readers.”— Flavorwire How to triumph like a girl During the impossible age of everyone The last move Mowing The rewilding The good wave Down here How far away we are The quiet machine – I remember the carrots The tree of fire Someplace like Montana State bird – Downhearted Miracle fish The saving tree What it looks like to us and the words we use Bellow What remains grows ravenous In a mexican restaurant I recall how much you upset me Cower Relentless The riveter The vine After you toss around the ashes The noisiness of sleep We are surprised The long ride Before Torn Field bling In the country of resurrection Glow The wild divine Day of song, day of silence Oranges & the ocean Play it again Long ago & the cow comes back Accident report in the tall, tall weeds Service The plunge The good fight Drift Midnight, talking about our exes Nashville after hours Oh please, let it be lightning Adaptation Roadside attractions with the dogs of America Prickly pear & fisticuffs The whale & the waltz inside of it A trick of the light Tattoo theory The problem with travel Outside Oklahoma, we see Boston The great blue heron of Dunbar Road Lies about sea creatures Call to post Lashed to the helm, all stiff and stark Home fires After the ice storm The other wish The conditional. ""Bright Dead Things" examines the chaos that is life, the dangerous thrill of living in a world you know you have to leave one day, and the search to find something that is ultimately disorderly, and marvelous, and ours"-- Résumé de l'éditeur