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Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
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Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude is a sustained meditation on that which goes away—loved ones, the seasons, the earth as we know it—that tries to find solace in the processes of the garden and the orchard. That is, this is a book that studies the wisdom of the garden and orchard, those places where all—death, sorrow, loss—is converted into what might, with patience, nourish
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Paperback, 102 pages
Published
January 7th 2015
by University of Pittsburgh Press
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Full of joy, hope, and thanks, Ross Gay's Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude consists mostly of speedy celebrations of common things. Echoing the twentieth-century odes of Pablo Neruda, Gay writes long poems made up of short lines that uniformly are in awe of their simple subjects: fig trees, spoons, armpits, feet, ants, drinking water. Images of gardening and farming, bounty and harvest, also link the poems together, as does the poet's tendency to break up his poems' lines in abrupt and unexpected
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Probably one of the most noteworthy things about Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude is that most of these poems are several pages long, and they often start out being about one thing and then pivot somewhere in the middle, revealing they're actually about something else instead of, or in addition to, what you'd thought they were about. You could be reading along happily, smiling at Gay's loving tribute to his next-door neighbor, only to unexpectedly find yourself sobbing. Uh, not that that happened
...more
I don't know when I last read a set of poems that managed to convey such intense joy. I love Gerard Manley Hopkins, and although the comparison is imperfect, I swear I still felt an echo of "The Windhover" in certain lines and stanzas, especially the title poem, which I love intensely. I think it was Roger Rosenblatt who said art requires affection for life, and Ross Gay's affection is infectious here. His poems are like good music, good food, good weather, and good friends coming together at
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I have a little ritual I go through before I read a book of poetry. First, I count the number of poems in the collection. Here it is a nimble 24. Doesn't seem enough to flesh out a full book of poetry (this is not a chapbook), but once you enter, the mystery is solved. Gay mostly writes long, strung-out single-stanza poems, often with lines that consist of 2-6 words.
But back to the ritual. Acknowledgments. Ah, yes. The aspiring poet in me. I want to know where these have seen the light of ...more
But back to the ritual. Acknowledgments. Ah, yes. The aspiring poet in me. I want to know where these have seen the light of ...more
This is a warm-hearted volume of poems that constantly tricked me into tears. The reality of life as loss is very present here, inextricably connected to the joy of life's abundance. The author's experience of gardening inform the poems which are filled with images of the garden, the life and inevitable deaths.
There are so many lines that I treasured. To quote just a few:
and yes, it is spring, if you can't tell
from the words my mind makes
of the world
and:
I swore when I got into this poem I would ...more
There are so many lines that I treasured. To quote just a few:
and yes, it is spring, if you can't tell
from the words my mind makes
of the world
and:
I swore when I got into this poem I would ...more
This book of poems was just longlisted for the National Book Award, so I was happy to find a copy in my library.
Ross's poems are very steeped in nature, particularly a farm/orchard childhood (based on what he says). A lot on childhood, relationships, and one very touching tribute to a friend and colleague at Indiana University who was stabbed to death in 2009. (That poem is called "Spoon.")
My favorite little bit comes at the end of the poem "Feet," which starts with his thoughts on his ugly ...more
Ross's poems are very steeped in nature, particularly a farm/orchard childhood (based on what he says). A lot on childhood, relationships, and one very touching tribute to a friend and colleague at Indiana University who was stabbed to death in 2009. (That poem is called "Spoon.")
My favorite little bit comes at the end of the poem "Feet," which starts with his thoughts on his ugly ...more
Ross Gay’s Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude is an uplifting and therapeutic poetry collection. He embraces the small things that make life wonderful as he reminisces his past and childhood.
His collection is imbued with beautiful imagery about the natural world; it is compellingly lyrical:
There is, in my yard, a huge and beautiful peach tree.
I planted the thing as a three-foot whip,
a spindly prayer with a tangle of roots so delicate,
so wild, I took ten minutes to feather them apart.
The self-aware ...more
His collection is imbued with beautiful imagery about the natural world; it is compellingly lyrical:
There is, in my yard, a huge and beautiful peach tree.
I planted the thing as a three-foot whip,
a spindly prayer with a tangle of roots so delicate,
so wild, I took ten minutes to feather them apart.
The self-aware ...more
Mar 05, 2015
Carol
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Poeple who love poetry and people who love nature. Especially poeple who love both.
Recommended to Carol by:
That radio interview
Shelves:
poetry
I just reread. And found another poem I love - It describes a goldfinch eating sunflower seeds. The scene is a metaphor for love - poem is called (I think) Wedding Poem.
And everything I said before still applies:
I love, love, love this book. It truly lives up to the title.
I plan to quote from several of the poems. Since there's no plot to be revealed, I don't think it's technically a spoiler, but for those who don't want to read excerpts, be advised.
I first heard of this author when I happened ...more
And everything I said before still applies:
I love, love, love this book. It truly lives up to the title.
I plan to quote from several of the poems. Since there's no plot to be revealed, I don't think it's technically a spoiler, but for those who don't want to read excerpts, be advised.
I first heard of this author when I happened ...more
I am trying, I think, to forgive myself
for something I don't know what.
But what I do know is that I love the moment when the poet says
"I am trying to do this
or I am trying to do that."
Sometimes it's a horseshit trick. But sometimes
it's a way by which the poet says
I wish I could tell you,
truly, of the little factory
in my head: the smokestacks
chuffing, the dandelions
and purslane and willows of sweet clover
prying through the blacktop.
I wish I could tell you
how inside is the steady mumble and ...more
for something I don't know what.
But what I do know is that I love the moment when the poet says
"I am trying to do this
or I am trying to do that."
Sometimes it's a horseshit trick. But sometimes
it's a way by which the poet says
I wish I could tell you,
truly, of the little factory
in my head: the smokestacks
chuffing, the dandelions
and purslane and willows of sweet clover
prying through the blacktop.
I wish I could tell you
how inside is the steady mumble and ...more
just like an overflowing bucket of human delight/sadness/the spectrum between. i am down with ross gay.
This is Ross Gay’s third volume of poetry. It won the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, the National Critics Circle Award for Poetry and a finalist for the National Book Award. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, he teaches at Indiana University. He was not a motivated student, but thanks to a few teachers along the way who saw his potential, he eventually earned a BA from Lafayette College, an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College, and a PhD in English from Temple University.
This volume of Gay’s ...more
This volume of Gay’s ...more
Ross Gay's newest book reminds me of why I love poetry. The sincerity and precision. The music. The seeing and cataloging what is beautiful and what is perverse. Though every word is well placed and every line well cared for, the poems wander, and wallow, and address themselves, and yet never loose focus. In poems the reader might wonder how she got from sexual innuendo to sharing a meal with small-miracle worker: the bee, and so be forced to re-read and retrace the steps that got her there.
...more
I had quite high expectations for this, but I'm afraid I'm a bit disappointed. Though I found some of the sentences beautiful, especially those depicting nature, I couldn't find a personal connection. I was initially going to give this three stars, but after having thought about it for a few days, very little from this seems to have stuck with me. I do see the talent, but I just didn't find myself captured.
Ross was my professor, so I am not exactly objective, but this book is so good. I wish it won all the awards. The poem "Spoon," an elegy for Don Belton, is unforgettable.
An undercurrent of these poems:
Gratitude and joy can subvert the cruel and racist systems of domination that grind people down. Reveling in beauty &etc.
An undercurrent of these poems:
Gratitude and joy can subvert the cruel and racist systems of domination that grind people down. Reveling in beauty &etc.
ode to the flute
A man sings
by opening his
mouth a man
sings by opening
his lungs by
turning himself into air
a flute can
be made of a man
nothing is explained
a flute lays
on its side
and prays a wind
might enter it
and make of it
at least
a small final song
A man sings
by opening his
mouth a man
sings by opening
his lungs by
turning himself into air
a flute can
be made of a man
nothing is explained
a flute lays
on its side
and prays a wind
might enter it
and make of it
at least
a small final song
What a pretty cover!
from Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay
Ode to Sleeping in My Clothes
And though I don’t mention it
to my mother
or the doctors
with their white coats
it is, in fact,
a great source of happiness,
for me, as I don’t
even remove my socks,
and will sometimes
even pull up my hood
and slide my hands deep
in my pockets
and probably moreso
than usual look as if something
bad has happened
my heart blasting a last somersault
or some artery parting
like curtains in a theatre
while the cavalry of blood
comes charging ...more
Ode to Sleeping in My Clothes
And though I don’t mention it
to my mother
or the doctors
with their white coats
it is, in fact,
a great source of happiness,
for me, as I don’t
even remove my socks,
and will sometimes
even pull up my hood
and slide my hands deep
in my pockets
and probably moreso
than usual look as if something
bad has happened
my heart blasting a last somersault
or some artery parting
like curtains in a theatre
while the cavalry of blood
comes charging ...more
This poetry collection deserves all the praise it's received. Humble and charming, Ross Gay sees the beautiful and not-so-beautiful and loves it all. These poems focus on nature, especially the joy of producing things in the garden, as well as friends and family.
These poems contain so much unabashed joy and life, even when dealing with difficult topics, such as the death of the poet's father.
Happy poems. Especially love Ross Gay writing about gardening and animals and plants. A perfect mid-winter pick-me-up.
Enticing, refreshing, and a beautiful ode to flora and fauna. Review to come.
A fantastically unabashed and, for this reader, refreshing book per Gay’s unwillingness to adhere to the dry decorum of the contemporary “poetry ‘world.’” Being a gardener as Gay is, the poems land well with me, though I suspect those without green thumbs will also be charmed by this book. These poems are full of light and sorrow and joy, almost evenly mixed, and that combination is all too rare.
In short, I didn't like this book. Mostly, I didn't like the style. There weren't enough punctuation breaks, so the lines ran into each other and the rhythm got lost. There wasn't a single poem, or even a single line, that I liked. I don't understand why this won awards, to be honest.
Read the review on my blog here.
Read the review on my blog here.
This collection of poetry is nearly perfect. These poems are so lush and beautiful that, with many of them, I had to read them and then reread them slowly to savor the music of Gay's language and let in the joy and reverence he takes in all the details of life. Much of the collection draws on his orchard, and the poems have the quality of that fruit. The words "bursting," "sweet," and "ripe" come to mind. I loved every minute of this collection, and I'm sure I will reread it over and over again.
...more
Forgive me. I embraced this book reluctantly. My own style is so terse that it took me a while to ease into Gay's sweet rambling. "to the mulberry tree" was where it finally clicked for me: when I got to the ending: "she put one hand on my chin/and the other in my hair/turning my head away from what wreckage/waited in there/and back in the leaves,/which too I will do to you,/so that none of us ever die terribly,/but stay always like this, lips and fingers blushed purple,/the faint sugar ghosting
...more
Not unlike a seed packet whose descriptions of luscious blooms whet the gardener's appetite when snow and ice cover the ground. Ross Gay provokes, surprises and delights with his thoughts about the natural world. In so doing, he makes something sacred of the ordinary, whether it's humus or the liturgy of pruning. This one's a keeper. Recommended for people who like to dirty their hands and plant little miracles.
"The magic dust our bodies become casts spells on the roots."
"The kind of God to whom ...more
"The magic dust our bodies become casts spells on the roots."
"The kind of God to whom ...more
Devoured this delicious book of poetry during breaks at Soulfire Farm's Black and Latino Farmer Immersion.
I loved listening to, meeting and communing with permaculture poet Ross Gay. There is no substitute for the animated way he reads his work. Definitely go see him reading live if you have the opportunity.
A must-savor collection for anyone who digs nature, gardening, farming, orchards, the outdoors and vibrant imagery. The way Ross sees the world, his divine diction and rhythm, playfully (and ...more
I loved listening to, meeting and communing with permaculture poet Ross Gay. There is no substitute for the animated way he reads his work. Definitely go see him reading live if you have the opportunity.
A must-savor collection for anyone who digs nature, gardening, farming, orchards, the outdoors and vibrant imagery. The way Ross sees the world, his divine diction and rhythm, playfully (and ...more
This collection started with such aplomb, I wondered if it might be able to astound me. But it didn't continue, and in fact I felt it weakened the further it went on. Still, there were moments in each of his poems that feel Whitmanesque, or certainly life infused. I'm convinced that I might have missed something, or perhaps not had the proper lens for his work. I did enjoy the vast scope of content, and that cover is art itself.
Fantastic book of poetry! Dripping with love for the natural world and gardening, the book paints pictures of what is beautiful in this world, even when he is writing poems on grieving his father, and the title poem is simply stunning and a must read for everyone.
These poems are antidotes for despair; if you could bottle their magic, preserve it like ripe fruits, you could cure most anything.
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Ross Gay is the author of Against Which, Bringing the Shovel Down, and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. His poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, Orion, the Sun, and elsewhere. He is an associate professor of poetry at Indiana University and teaches in Drew University’s low-residency MFA program in poetry. He also serves on the board of the Bloomington Community Orchard.
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