World Is Round: A Collection of Poems and Prose by Nikky Finney, Valerie Boyd (Editor)
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: January 2003
- Publisher: InnerLight Publishing
- Format: Paperback, 110pp
- ISBN-13: 9780971489042
- ISBN: 0971489041
Synopsis
Charged, visionary poems from Nikky Finney, published by InnerLight Publishing out of Atlanta, Georgia. "A poem, when it works, is a rolling realization of ideas and emotion that takes you somewhere you've never been. Nikky Finney does that for me. Every now and then, I find myself in a room with a stage and there she is, reading poems, pulling me out pf myself and bringing me home. The World Is Round opens all of my doors and windows and airs me out with a cold and truthful wind"— Walter Mosley. "It is 1963 and I am a Black girl in the South. One thing is for certain: I do not trust white men"— from "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.
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World Is Round: A Collection of Poems and Proseby Anonymous
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October 23, 2003: Nikky Finney?s ?The World is Round? is a collection that is as thematically diverse as it is unique. The chronological order of each piece actually come together to tell a story. At the end of the day, the whole thing comes through as a memoir rather than a random collection of pieces. From the title piece, `The World is Round: The breast of the Garment Measured?, which is essentially a pre-birth tale, through `Elephantine?, which is like a childhood memoir, down to the final piece, `Charm? which almost reads like a farewell note, the whole structure of the book seems well thought out. Though slow in places, the whole package makes for a good read.
World Is Round: A Collection of Poems and Proseby Anonymous
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October 21, 2003: In her new book of poetry and prose, The World is Round, Nikky Finney glimpses into the human ventures of birth, death, family, work, murder, sexuality, and worth. Each entry sheds a progressively brighter light on the book?s overarching theme: the propensity of the universe to replace itself in continuous cycles. As we sadly read in ?My Old Kentucky Home,? a poem about a black teenager?s death by gang violence and his disengaged mourners, some of these cycles have self-destructive qualities. Another entry, Hurricane Beulah, considers familial cycles in the form of short story. We watch the author sit patiently in a Salvation Army store as her aging Grandmother Beulah wanders down every aisle. We?re in the same room as the poet when her grandmother passes, and we understand their relationship. In the poem ?Mean Nina,? recompense is presented as the cycle of justice, as Finney lies to a vegetating aunt, telling her that evil will not go unpunished. The World is Round is a celebration of the many facets of humanity. It is unique because it enlarges everyday occurrences and casts them onto the larger canvas of life.
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