Neon Vernacular by Yusef Komunyakaa: Book Cover

    Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems by Yusef Komunyakaa

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    Textbook (Paperback - New Edition)

    • 188pp
    • Sales Rank: 191,933

    Textbook Information

    • ISBN-13: 9780819512116
    • Edition Description: New Edition
    • Edition Number: 1
    • Pub. Date: March 1993
    • Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

    Reader Rating: (1 ratings)

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    • Overview
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    Product Details

    • Pub. Date: March 1993
    • Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
    • Format: Textbook Paperback, 188pp
    • Sales Rank: 191,933

    Synopsis

    An award-winning poet's testimony of the war in Vietnam.

    Library Journal

    This collection is comprised of poems from seven of Komunyakaa's previous collections. A master at interweaving memory and history to shape his experiences into narratives, Komunyakaa enriches his poems with details: ``His fingernails are black/ & torn from blows,/ as if the hammer/ declares its own angle of reference.'' Music has its special force with a rhythm that seems to enforce meaning: ``Heartstring. Blessed wood/ and every moment the thing's made of:/ ball of fatback/ licked by fingers of fire.'' As an African American, Komunyakaa defines a culture with striking imagery that is often misunderstood by mainstream readers. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries. --Lenard D. Moore, United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake Cty., N.C.

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    Biography

    Yusef Komunyakaa's eleven books of poems include Talking Dirty to the Gods (FSG, 2000) and Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. He teaches at Princeton University.

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    Customer Reviews

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    • Ratings: 1Reviews: 1

    Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poemsby Anonymous

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    June 19, 2000: I saw the author present one of the poems in this collection, 'Blue Light Lounge Sutra...' at a reading. He performed it with the gusto and passion you might find in a rock star singing his best song on a night when everything seems to come together. He read the poem from memory without pausing in his speech except to enhance its jazz-like rhythm. Immediately afterwards, the audience broke its habit of staying subdued and silent until the end of a reading to applaud spontaneously. This, I think, best describes the feelings Komunyakaa conjures when he is at his best. Although there are many strong poems in this collection, even on the page 'Blue Light Lounge Sutra...' obviously stands out. Other notables include 'Chair Gallows' and 'You and I Are Disappearing.'