Cruelty & Killing Floor

by Ai

paperback

Genres: Poetry

99 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1987

About the author

Ai Ogawa (born Florence Anthony) was an American poet who who described herself as 1/2 Japanese, 1/8 Choctaw-Chickasaw, 1/4 Black, 1/16 Irish and as well as Southern Cheyenne and Comanche. She is known for her mastery of the dramatic monologue as a poetic form, as well as for taking on dark, controversial topics in her work. While her poems often contain sex, violence, and other subjects for which she received criticism, she stated during a 1978 interview that she did not view her use of them as gratuitous. About the poems in her first collection, Cruelty, she said: "I wanted people to see how they treated each other and themselves." In 1999 she won the National Book Award for Poetry for Vice: New and Selected Poems.

Reviews

[Anatoly Molotkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You drove seventy miles, paid for that glass/ and I can't remember the last good meal I had,/ but bring it up here. I'll help you. I'm not angry./ We'll paint the sun on it from the inside,/ so if we die some night, a light will still be on." Stark in its hopelessness, Cruelty and Killing Floor paint the picture of poverty and oppression in their most tangible real-life implications. I especially loved Cruelty.

[J. Aaron Blecher · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can never truly know another's pain... even after walking many many miles in their shoes. It is always your feet doing the walking.

[David Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, these here poems have teeth. Even though they are (**does math**) rather old, they are still sharp, and brutal, and occasionally tender (briefly). They will make you feel, whether you want to or not.

[Andrew Squitiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gold standard for Ai.

[Trina Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally read this after my poetry professor recommending Ai to me specifically multiple times. Makes me want to dabble in persona again. Bleak, beautiful language for ugly things and vice versa.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This outstanding collection (Ai's first two books combined) contains colorful portraits of everyday people - sinners and saints alike. Each poem envelops you like perfume - sometimes pleasant, sometimes repugnant - they stir up strong feelings and force you to experience the presence of strangers.

[Barbra Quade]

A favorite poet. My favorite poem, "Nothing but Color."

[Shakira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw