American Smooth

Description

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.

Description

"Rita Dove's poems pay homage to our kaleidoscopic cultural heritage - from the 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. Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Oscar, makes her way through crowds to receive the award. A girl in Harlem studies the flirtations of the adult world so that someday, she, too, can "pop right out.""--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

Genres

• Poetry.

Other Editions

• American Smooth: PoemsHardcoverW. W. Norton & Company2004-09-30
• American SmoothPaperbackW. W. Norton & Company2006-02-13
• American SmoothPaperbackW. W. Norton & Company2006-02-13