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Haruko/Love Poems
For Haruko
Little moves on sight
blinded by histories
as trivial or expansive
as the rain
seducing light
into a blurred excitement
Then
she opens
all of one eye
as accurate as longing
as two hands beholden to the hunger of green leaves
and
rinsing them back
into regular breath
she who sees
she frees each of these
beggarly events
cleansing them
of dust and other death
Poem abou...more
Little moves on sight
blinded by histories
as trivial or expansive
as the rain
seducing light
into a blurred excitement
Then
she opens
all of one eye
as accurate as longing
as two hands beholden to the hunger of green leaves
and
rinsing them back
into regular breath
she who sees
she frees each of these
beggarly events
cleansing them
of dust and other death
Poem abou...more
Paperback, 140 pages
Published
February 1st 1993
by Serpent's Tail
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Aug 13, 2011
Madeline
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Shelves:
25-women-poets,
library-books,
2011,
poetry,
queer,
social-agenda,
race,
gone-to-look-for-america,
italy,
women
The first poems in this collection - the Haruko poems - are really, really bad. Like, one of her friends should have pulled her aside for some honest advice before she decided to publish them. The poems in the Love Poems section are better, mostly because you get the impression actual thought was put into them. They're less trite and insipid. But I really only think two of them are "good": "From the Talking Back of Miss Valentine Jones: Poem # One" and "Romance in Irony."
"Valentine Jones" is cha...more
"Valentine Jones" is cha...more
Consider that 3 star rating to be 3 1/2 stars. (2 stars for the first section, 4 for the second)
I wasn't too impressed with the first section, the "Haruko" poems although there were a few that I liked.
The second section, though... The Selected Love Poems 1970 - 1991 were fantastic. Such a wonderful combination of the intensely personal with the raging political. I have not read a poet as good at consistently combining a true love poem with the horrible stories of the world. There is a fire here...more
I wasn't too impressed with the first section, the "Haruko" poems although there were a few that I liked.
The second section, though... The Selected Love Poems 1970 - 1991 were fantastic. Such a wonderful combination of the intensely personal with the raging political. I have not read a poet as good at consistently combining a true love poem with the horrible stories of the world. There is a fire here...more
I should start off my review by saying I am in love with June Jordan. This is the first collection of hers I read from front to back. While I am more interested in her full out political poems, I am amazed at her ability to write poems that are meaningful on personal and political levels. Many of the poems in this anthology present this.
Most of her poems are powered by passion, which makes them passionate experiences for the reader. She uses common language and conversational rythem in her poem...more
Most of her poems are powered by passion, which makes them passionate experiences for the reader. She uses common language and conversational rythem in her poem...more
I just read this at the Langston Hughes Community Center here in Queens. I went to the poetry section in the stacks and picked out the first book that caught my eye. This was one of the most beautiful and honest collection of poems I've ever read.
this is my favorite of her poetry books. brilliant, intense, and carves out a type of deep righteous, courageous love to aspire towards
june jordan + love poems = my religion
Maybe some of these are a bit dated but still a treat.
Great when going through a breakup, great for getting June Jordan's take on that man/woman thing and that woman/woman thing, great when thinking about the palliative magic of good chinese takeout, great when pissed at how little has changed in the world.
Great when going through a breakup, great for getting June Jordan's take on that man/woman thing and that woman/woman thing, great when thinking about the palliative magic of good chinese takeout, great when pissed at how little has changed in the world.
I found this book in Strand with an inscription on the inside cover (and it made me get it, why some people give away, what gives?) . shortly after I went to a tribute to her at Hunter college, one of the most inspiring evenings I have ever experienced. Her poems and her person inspire.
i do wish i had read this back when Lex recommended it while i was going thru a painful break up. somehow i kept putting it off. it would have been helpful then. but it was still amazing and beautiful now.
very passionate
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