Author

Publication

1991-04-01 - W. W. Norton & Company

Language

English

Word Count

22,000 words, Guess

Page Count

88 pages

Identifiers

  • Internet Archivegracenotespoems0000dove
  • ISBN-100393306968
  • ISBN-139780393306965
  • LibraryThing490368
  • Goodreads150323
and 2 more
  • Better World Books9780393306965
  • Open LibraryOL7452852M

Classifications

  • LCCPS3554.O884G7 1991
  • DDC811/.54
  • LCCPS3554.O884 G7 1989

Description

With this her fourth book of poems, Rita Dove expands her role as a leading voice in contemporary American letters. The title of the collection serves as an umbrella for the intimate concerns expressed in the forty-eight poems; in music, grace notes are those added to the basic melody, the embellishments that—if played or sung at the right moment with just the right touch—can break your heart. Isn't this what every lyric poem wishes to be, the poet asks as she explored autobiographical events, most from childhood and the cusp of adolescence, and then turns to the shadowy areas of regret and memory. The word as talisman is another of her concerns, and finally, in the section that most typifies the lilt of grace notes, Dove considers the embellishments below the melody of daily life.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • Grace NotesW. W. Norton & Company1991-04-01

Reader Reviews

No reviews yet for this book.

Be the first to share your thoughts!