Synopses & Reviews
A disillusioned Irish nun moves to America, meets Elvis, and rediscovers her faith. An amputee goes on a strange journey during a hurricane. Each of the speakers in Ai's daring new collection has a uniquely American story to tell, and each is told with the poet's characteristic dark humor and ambition. From "Brotherhood"
Now we're middle aged,
Bearing the curse, not the luck of the Irish,
On our shoulders like crosses.
We know that loss is just the outcome of living,
The dross that's left after you turn gold back into iron
And end up in Rio with a mulatta, who's got a habit,
But he doesn't care. He's flying blind
And I am right behind him.
Review
"A master of the dramatic monologue in her last book, Ai, who died in March 2010, dives into the minds and memories of a diverse array of characters, both fictional and non. The characters include Elizabeth Custer, the outspoken wife of the general in the Civil War; a young man who is raped by his roommate after a graduation celebration turns to debauchery; Manesh, a scholar of philosophy from New Delhi who is nearly suffocating in a box aboard ship, smuggling himself to America. Despite their differences, these characters all channel Ai's own voice and concerns. In "Fatherhood," a part-Irish woman fantasizes about fitting in at an Irish street fair. "The Hunt" involves an interracial marriage with a prominent woman named Florence. Several of the poems explore the speakers' troubled relationship to others — mainly family: "We fathers, sons brothers, uncles, and husbands,/ Confused and Sputtering into our glasses, Paralyzed by what passes for living/ In the age of terror and misgiving." This book makes a powerful conclusion to an important poet's career. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review
"Here her signature form is a vessel for concentrated yet complex and suspenseful stories, wrenching or liberating confessions....Let Ai's books preserve her compassion and righteous anger, her artistry and profound sense of the paradoxes of human existence." Booklist
Synopsis
From "Brotherhood Now we're middle aged, Bearing the curse, not the luck of the Irish On our shoulders like crosses We know that loss is just the outcome of living The dross that's left after you turn gold back into iro And end up in Rio with a mulatta, who's got a habit But he doesn't care. He's flying blin And I am right behind him"
Synopsis
From "Brotherhood"
Now we're middle aged,
Bearing the curse, not the luck of the Irish,
On our shoulders like crosses.
We know that loss is just the outcome of living,
The dross that's left after you turn gold back into iron
And end up in Rio with a mulatta, who's got a habit,
But he doesn't care. He's flying blind
And I am right behind him.
Synopsis
A searing new collection from a master of the poetic monologue.
About the Author
Ai (1947-2010) is the winner of a Lamont Poetry Award and an American Book Award, and author of several poetry books, including Cruelty, Killing Floor, Sin, Fate, Greed, Vice, Dread, and No Surrender. She lived in Stillwater, Oklahoma.