The beforelife: poems
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English
Description
In this stunning collection, Franz Wright chronicles the journey back from a place of isolation and wordlessness. After a period when it seemed certain he would never write poetry again, he speaks with bracing clarity about the twilit world that lies between madness and sanity, addiction and recovery. Wright negotiates the precarious transition from illness to health in a state of skeptical rapture, discovering along the way the exhilaration of love—both divine and human—and finding that even the most battered consciousness can be good company.
Whether he is writing about his regret for the abortion of a child, describing the mechanics of slander ("I can just hear them on the telephone and keening all their kissy little knives"), or composing an ironic ode to himself ("To a Blossoming Nut Case"), Wright's poems are exquisitely precise. Charles Simic has characterized him as a poetic miniaturist, whose "secret ambition is to write an epic on the inside of a matchbook cover." Time and again, Wright turns on a dime in a few brief lines, exposing the dark comedy and poignancy of his heightened perception.
Here is one of the poems from the collection:
Description of Her Eyes
Two teaspoonfuls,
and my mind goes
everyone can kiss my ass now—
then it's changed,
I change my mind.
Eyes so sad, and infinitely kind.
Whether he is writing about his regret for the abortion of a child, describing the mechanics of slander ("I can just hear them on the telephone and keening all their kissy little knives"), or composing an ironic ode to himself ("To a Blossoming Nut Case"), Wright's poems are exquisitely precise. Charles Simic has characterized him as a poetic miniaturist, whose "secret ambition is to write an epic on the inside of a matchbook cover." Time and again, Wright turns on a dime in a few brief lines, exposing the dark comedy and poignancy of his heightened perception.
Here is one of the poems from the collection:
Description of Her Eyes
Two teaspoonfuls,
and my mind goes
everyone can kiss my ass now—
then it's changed,
I change my mind.
Eyes so sad, and infinitely kind.
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ISBN:
9780375709432
9780307554574
9780375411540
9780307554574
9780375411540
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | d230d00c-8d5d-8409-cd31-3c641bd63600 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | beforelife |
Grouping Author | franz wright |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-12-11 02:10:22AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-12-11 02:22:58AM |
Solr Fields
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0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Wright, Franz, 1953-
author_display
Wright, Franz
available_at_catalog
Central
Fair Oaks
Fair Oaks
detailed_location_catalog
Central
Fair Oaks
Fair Oaks
display_description
In this stunning collection, Franz Wright chronicles the journey back from a place of isolation and wordlessness. After a period when it seemed certain he would never write poetry again, he speaks with bracing clarity about the twilit world that lies between madness and sanity, addiction and recovery. Wright negotiates the precarious transition from illness to health in a state of skeptical rapture, discovering along the way the exhilaration of love—both divine and human—and finding that even the most battered consciousness can be good company.
Whether he is writing about his regret for the abortion of a child, describing the mechanics of slander ("I can just hear them on the telephone and keening all their kissy little knives"), or composing an ironic ode to himself ("To a Blossoming Nut Case"), Wright's poems are exquisitely precise. Charles Simic has characterized him as a poetic miniaturist, whose "secret ambition is to write an epic on the inside of a matchbook cover." Time and again, Wright turns on a dime in a few brief lines, exposing the dark comedy and poignancy of his heightened perception.
Here is one of the poems from the collection:
Description of Her Eyes
Two teaspoonfuls,
and my mind goes
everyone can kiss my ass now—
then it's changed,
I change my mind.
Eyes so sad, and infinitely kind.
Whether he is writing about his regret for the abortion of a child, describing the mechanics of slander ("I can just hear them on the telephone and keening all their kissy little knives"), or composing an ironic ode to himself ("To a Blossoming Nut Case"), Wright's poems are exquisitely precise. Charles Simic has characterized him as a poetic miniaturist, whose "secret ambition is to write an epic on the inside of a matchbook cover." Time and again, Wright turns on a dime in a few brief lines, exposing the dark comedy and poignancy of his heightened perception.
Here is one of the poems from the collection:
Description of Her Eyes
Two teaspoonfuls,
and my mind goes
everyone can kiss my ass now—
then it's changed,
I change my mind.
Eyes so sad, and infinitely kind.
format_catalog
Book
eBook
eBook
format_category_catalog
Books
eBook
eBook
id
d230d00c-8d5d-8409-cd31-3c641bd63600
isbn
9780307554574
9780375411540
9780375709432
9780375411540
9780375709432
itype_catalog
Adult Book Non-Fiction
last_indexed
2024-12-11T10:22:58.230Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Fiction
literary_form_full
Fiction
Poetry
Poetry
local_callnumber_catalog
811.54 W949 2001
owning_library_catalog
Sacramento Public Library
owning_location_catalog
Central
Fair Oaks
Fair Oaks
primary_isbn
9780375709432
publishDate
2001
2010
2010
publisher
A.A. Knopf :
Distributed by Random House
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Distributed by Random House
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Drug abuse -- Poetry
Drug addicts -- Rehabilitation -- Poetry
Poets, American -- 20th century
Drug addicts -- Rehabilitation -- Poetry
Poets, American -- 20th century
title_display
The beforelife : poems
title_full
The Beforelife
The beforelife : poems / by Franz Wright
The beforelife : poems / by Franz Wright
title_short
The beforelife
title_sub
poems
topic_facet
Drug abuse
Drug addicts
Fiction
Poetry
Poets, American
Rehabilitation
Drug addicts
Fiction
Poetry
Poets, American
Rehabilitation
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