I : new and selected poems

Author/Creator:

Derricotte, Toi, author

Publication/Creation:

Pittsburgh, PA : University of Pittsburgh Press, [2019]

Format:

Book

More Details

Additional/Related Title Information

Full Title:

I : new and selected poems / Toi Derricotte ; Ed Ochester, editor

Related/Included Titles:

Preface to the new and selected poems: Speculations about "I" --
After all those years of fear and raging in my poems --
After the Gwendolyn Brooks reading --
Among school children --
As my writing changes I think with sorrow of those who couldn't change --
Biographia Literaria Africana -- BLessed angels --
Elegy for my husband --
The enthusiast --
The exchange --
Gifts from the dead --
Glimpse:
Black woman as magician at CVS ;
The most surprising and necessary ingredient in my mother's spaghetti sauce ;
Bad Dad ;
Glimpse --
I count on you invisible --
I give in to an old desire --
The intimates:
The intimates ;
On a woman who excuses herself from the table, even in restaurants, to brush her teeth ;
Homage --
Jerry Stern's friendship --
La fille aux cheveux de lin --
Lauds --
Midnight: Long train passing --
My father in old age --
A nap --
New Orleans palmetto bug:
1. False Gods ;
2. Why the giant palmetto bugs in New Orleans run toward you when you are screaming at them to go away --
Note --
Pantoum for the broken --
The peaches of August --
The permission --
The proof --
Rereading Jerry Stern --
Sex in old age --
Streaming --
Summer evening at Still Point --
Telly redux: Sharon asks me to send a picture of little fishie Telly --
Watching a roach give birth on YouTube, I think of Lucille Clifton meeting God --
"What are you?" --
The Empress of the Death House --
sleeping with mr. death --
the story of a very broken lady --
the mirror poems --
the face/as it must be/of love --
doll poem --
new lady godiva --
The grandmother poems :
The Empress of the Death House ;
The feeding ;
The funeral parade --
from a group of poems thinking about Anne Sexton on the anniversary of her death --
unburying the bird --
Natural birth --
Introduction: Writing Natural Birth --
november --
holy cross hospital --
maternity --
10:29 --
transition --
delivery --
in knowledge of young boys --
Captivity --
The minks --
Blackbottom --
Christmas Eve: My mother dressing --
St. Peter Claver --
The weakness --
Fires in childhood --
High school --
Hamtramck: The Polish women --
The struggle --
Before making love --
On stopping late in the afternoon for steamed dumplings --
Stuck --
Squeaky bed --
The good old dog --
The promise --
For a man who speaks with birds --
Touching/not touching: My mother --
My father still sleeping after surgery --
Boy at the Paterson Falls --
Fears of the eighth grade --
The furious boy --
In an urban school --
The polishers of brass --
For the dishwasher at Boothman's --
Plaid pants --
Books --
Allen Ginsberg --
On the turning up of unidentified black female corpses ---
A note on my son's face --
Tender --
Exits from Elmina Castle: Cape Coast, Ghana:
The journey ;
The tour ;
Tourists' lunch ;
Beneath Elmina ;
Above Elmina ;
Slavery ;
Power ;
Market --
When my father was beating me --
Black boys play the classics --
Brother --
Family secrets --
After a reading at a Black college --
For Black women who are afraid --
Passing --
Bookstore --
Invisible dreams --
Two poems:
Peripheral ;
Bird --
1:30 AM --
Dead baby speaks --
The origins of the artist: Natalie Cole --
From a letter: About Snow --
Not forgotten -- Grace Paley reading --
Clitoris --
The Undertaker's daughter --
Preface to The Undertaker's daughter: An apology to the reader --
The undertaker's daughter --
I am not afraid to be memoir --
Beds --
Sunday afternoon at Claire Carlyle's --
Dolls --
Mistrust of the beloved --
A memory of the future --
I see my father after his death --
My dad & sardines --
The new pet --
The Telly cycle:
For Telly the fish ;
Special ears ;
Another poem of a small greiving for my fish Telly ;
On the reasons I loved Telly the fish ;
Because I was good to Telly in his life ;
An apology to Telly the revolutionary --
When the goddess makes love to me --
Untitled --
The night I stopped singing like Billie Holiday --
When I touched her --
A little prayer to Our Lady --
Cherry blossoms --
The undertaking --
The exigencies of form --
The undertaking.

Related Names

Additional Author/Creators:

Ochester, Ed, editor

Subjects/Genre

Genre:

American poetry
Poetry
poetry

Subjects:

English poetry--20th century

Description/Summary

Table of Contents:

Preface to the new and selected poems: Speculations about "I" -- After all those years of fear and raging in my poems -- After the Gwendolyn Brooks reading -- Among school children -- As my writing changes I think with sorrow of those who couldn't change -- Biographia Literaria Africana -- BLessed angels -- Elegy for my husband -- The enthusiast -- The exchange -- Gifts from the dead -- Glimpse: Black woman as magician at CVS ; The most surprising and necessary ingredient in my mother's spaghetti sauce ; Bad Dad ; Glimpse -- I count on you invisible -- I give in to an old desire -- The intimates: The intimates ; On a woman who excuses herself from the table, even in restaurants, to brush her teeth ; Homage -- Jerry Stern's friendship -- La fille aux cheveux de lin -- Lauds -- Midnight: Long train passing -- My father in old age -- A nap -- New Orleans palmetto bug: 1. False Gods ; 2. Why the giant palmetto bugs in New Orleans run toward you when you are screaming at them to go away -- Note -- Pantoum for the broken -- The peaches of August -- The permission -- The proof -- Rereading Jerry Stern -- Sex in old age -- Streaming -- Summer evening at Still Point -- Telly redux: Sharon asks me to send a picture of little fishie Telly -- Watching a roach give birth on YouTube, I think of Lucille Clifton meeting God -- "What are you?" -- The Empress of the Death House -- sleeping with mr. death -- the story of a very broken lady -- the mirror poems -- the face/as it must be/of love -- doll poem -- new lady godiva -- The grandmother poems : The Empress of the Death House ; The feeding ; The funeral parade -- from a group of poems thinking about Anne Sexton on the anniversary of her death -- unburying the bird -- Natural birth -- Introduction: Writing Natural Birth -- november -- holy cross hospital -- maternity -- 10:29 -- transition -- delivery -- in knowledge of young boys -- Captivity -- The minks -- Blackbottom -- Christmas Eve: My mother dressing -- St. Peter Claver -- The weakness -- Fires in childhood -- High school -- Hamtramck: The Polish women -- The struggle -- Before making love -- On stopping late in the afternoon for steamed dumplings -- Stuck -- Squeaky bed -- The good old dog -- The promise -- For a man who speaks with birds -- Touching/not touching: My mother -- My father still sleeping after surgery -- Boy at the Paterson Falls -- Fears of the eighth grade -- The furious boy -- In an urban school -- The polishers of brass -- For the dishwasher at Boothman's -- Plaid pants -- Books -- Allen Ginsberg -- On the turning up of unidentified black female corpses --- A note on my son's face -- Tender -- Tender -- Exits from Elmina Castle: Cape Coast, Ghana: The journey ; The tour ; Tourists' lunch ; Beneath Elmina ; Above Elmina ; Slavery ; Power ; Market -- When my father was beating me -- Black boys play the classics -- Brother -- Family secrets -- After a reading at a Black college -- For Black women who are afraid -- Passing -- Bookstore -- Invisible dreams -- Two poems: Peripheral ; Bird -- 1:30 AM -- Dead baby speaks -- The origins of the artist: Natalie Cole -- From a letter: About Snow -- Not forgotten -- Grace Paley reading -- Clitoris -- The Undertaker's daughter -- Preface to The Undertaker's daughter: An apology to the reader -- Part I. The undertaker's daughter -- I am not afraid to be memoir -- Beds -- The undertaker's daughter -- Sunday afternoon at Claire Carlyle's -- Dolls -- Mistrust of the beloved -- Part II. A memory of the future -- I see my father after his death -- My dad & sardines -- The new pet -- The Telly cycle: For Telly the fish ; Special ears ; Another poem of a small greiving for my fish Telly ; On the reasons I loved Telly the fish ; Because I was good to Telly in his life ; An apology to Telly the revolutionary -- When the goddess makes love to me -- Untitled -- The night I stopped singing like Billie Holiday -- When I touched her -- A little prayer to Our Lady -- Cherry blossoms -- Part III. The undertaking -- The exigencies of form -- The undertaking.

Summary:

A Finalist for the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry. In Derricotte's own words: "How do you gain access to the / power of parts of yourself you / abhor, and make them sing / with beauty, tenderness, and compassion? / This is the record of fifty years / of victories in the reclamation / of a poet's voice."
The story of Toi Derricotte is a hero's odyssey. It is the journey of a poetic voice that in each book earns her way to home, to her own commanding powers. "I": New and Selected Poems shows the reader both the closeness of the enemy and the poet's inherent courage, inventiveness, and joy. It is a record of one woman's response to the repressive and fracturing forces around the subjects of race, class, color, gender, and sexuality. Each poet is an act of victory as they find their way through the repressive forces to speak with both beauty and truth. This collection features more than thirty new poems as well as selections from five of Derricotte's previously published books of poetry. --

Language:

English

Physical Type/Description:

1 online resource (321 pages)

Additional Identifiers

Catalog ID (MMSID):

9937183804302486

ISBN:

9780822986775
0822986779