New York Poems

by D.H. Melhem

New York Poems is dedicated to "The City of New embattled, gallant, enduring" by celebrated poet D. H. Melhem, who calls the Upper West Side her "muse." D. H. Melhem's sharp eye looks at neighborhood struggles with blight and urban renewal (chastised as "Negro Removal"). She examines her city from the World Trade Center disaster to the present to the city's future. New York Poems combines her seminal book of poetry, Notes on 94th Street, with her second volume about the neighborhood, Children of the House Afire, whose emblematic title poem describes a tragic fire she witnessed from her second-floor window. "Requiescant 9/11" ("let them rest"), a tribute sequence lamenting the martyrs of the World Trade Center closes Melhem's last collection, Conversation with a Stonemason. The author's preface and poem, "Prospect," survey the urban terrain. Melhem concludes with a lyrical panorama of her city's dynamic changes.

Genres: Poetry

184 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2005

Reviews

[Charmaine Soh]

i actually gave up on this book halfway because it just couldn't speak to me. and it's probably not a very familiar/well-liked style of poetry writing for me. i was not able to enjoy it that well, sadly.

but, i really liked how all the poems are categorised into different themes relating to NYC plus the fact that the first few pages of the book really caught my attention.