The Golden Shovel Anthology: New Poems Honoring Gwendolyn Brooks

by Terrance Hayes, Peter Kahn (Editor), Ravi Shankar (Editor), Patricia Smith (Editor)

Overview

“The cross-section of poets with varying poetics and styles gathered here is only one of the many admirable achievements of this volume.”
—Claudia Rankine in the New York Times

The Golden Shovel Anthology celebrates the life and work of poet and civil rights icon Gwendolyn Brooks through a dynamic new poetic form, the Golden Shovel, created by National Book Award–winner Terrance Hayes.

An array of writers—including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, the T. S. Eliot Prize, and the National Book Award, as well as a couple of National Poets Laureate—have written poems for this exciting new anthology: Rita Dove, Billy Collins, Danez Smith, Nikki Giovanni, Sharon Olds, Tracy K. Smith, Mark Doty, Sharon Draper, Richard Powers, and Julia Glass are just a few of the contributing poets.

This second edition includes Golden Shovel poems by two winners and six runners-up from an international student poetry competition judged by Nora Brooks Blakely, Gwendolyn Brooks’s daughter. The poems by these eight talented high school students add to Ms. Brooks’s legacy and contribute to the depth and breadth of this anthology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610756648
Publisher:	University of Arkansas Press
Publication date:	06/07/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	338
File size:	891 KB

About the Author

Peter Kahn is a founding member of the London poetry collective Malika’s Kitchen. He is also the founder of the Spoken Word Education Programme at Goldsmiths-University of London, and he directs the Spoken Word program at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Ravi Shankar is an award-winning poet, author, translator, and founding editor of Drunken Boat. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Paris Review, and on NPR and the BBC; and his many books include Language for a New Century, Deepening Groove, and What Else Could It Be.

Patricia Smith is the author of seven books of poetry, including Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah, winner of the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets, Blood Dazzler, a finalist for the National Book Award, and Incendiary Art, winner of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. She is a professor at the College of Staten Island and an instructor in the MFA program at Sierra Nevada College.

Terrance Hayes is a winner of the National Book Award and a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. His most recent book is American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin.

Table of Contents

Contents Foreword by Terrance Hayes Acknowledgments Preface to the Second Edition Introduction The Golden Shovel / Terrance Hayes A Sunset of the City kitchenette building Boy Breaking Glass a song in the front yard The Bean Eaters HAILEY LEITHAUSER, What There Is to Spend RACHEL RICHARDSON, A Halo for Her Invisible Hair ANNE SHAW, Weather Report RENÉE WATSON, An Aspect of Love SUSAN WHEELER, Stay, Dear ANDREW MOTION, Conjunction CAITLIN DOYLE, The Parrot Man SANDRA M. GILBERT, The Fava Bean-Eaters DIANE GLANCY, Evening JACK POWERS, Roadside Diner: Fairfield, Maine CHRISTIAN ROBINSON, Next to the Flatware PHILIP SCHULTZ, New Year's Eve in Times Square MAJOR JACKSON, Stand Your Ground ANGELA NARCISO TORRES, September, Chicago JENNY BOULLY, Child Tipping Forever CHELSEA DIXON, The Ache QURAYSH ALI LANSANA, 1972 ford ltd MIKE PUICAN, FUNERAL Sign NATALIE RICHARDSON, Cure and Curry DEBRIS STEVENSON, i. Cecil Park—High as the Swings ii. Dutch Pot Dancing CATHERINE BROGAN, Boys Breaking Glass M. AYODELE HEATH, Ornithology TROY JOLLIMORE, Sleeping under Stars ERIKA MEITNER, Meadowlands DEB NYSTROM, When He Doesn't Come Home CLARE POLLARD, Boy Breaking Glass, Peckham DAVID WAGONER, That Boy Is Still Breaking Glass JOHN COREY WHALEY, So There KWAME DAWES, Grown Up RAVEN HOGUE, Yazoo City EUGENE GLORIA, The Maid MAXINE KUMIN, At the Capitol Hill Suites, 1985 STEPHANIE STRICKLAND, In a Red Hat RITA WILLIAMS-GARCIA, Meanwhile in the Henhouse JAKE ADAM YORK, In Little Rock KEVIN STEIN, Ars Poetica Composed While Dressing in the Dark LIANE STRAUSS, Tender Visits BRENDA CÁRDENAS, What Will We Give Our Children? REGINALD GIBBONS, A Neighborhood in Chicago LAURIE ANN GUERRERO, Play the Song RUTH ELLEN KOCHER, If Divorce Were Our Concerto SHAZEA QURAISHI, The Inconditions of Love BRUCE SMITH, "Cry, Baby" Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters sang & "The Sky is Crying" SPRING ULMER, Slave Ship Captain's Great-great Granddaughter RONALD WALLACE, Lost softness softly makes a trap for us JERICHO BROWN, Stay KAREN VOLKMAN, Two Collisions ADRIAN MATEJKA, The Explorer LISA WILLIAMS, First Fight. Then Fiddle. OLIVER DE LA PAZ, Blue Graffiti DAVID GUTERSON, The Occasioned Contrition of a Cynic LLOYD SCHWARTZ, Is Light Enough? MATTHEW ZAPRUDER, Is Light Enough? SANDRA BEASLEY, Non-Commissioned (A Quartet) CM BURROUGHS, Stillborn [In Memory Of ] LAURA MULLEN, Amen CHRISTINA PUGH, Stand Your Ground LEWIS TURCO, Omen JASWINDER BOLINA, Jessie Mitchell's Father UGOCHI NWAOGWUGWU, Split Personality PETER KAHN, Gray JOSÉ OLIVAREZ, On My Eyelashes ALICIA OSTRIKER, Dry Hours BARBARA JANE REYES, We pray, and SASHA ROGELBERG, Who Has Given Us Life GEORGE SZIRTES, We are things of dry hours and the involuntary plan MICHAEL COLLIER, Len Bias, a Bouquet of Flowers, and Ms. Brooks PATRICIA SMITH, Black, Poured Directly into the Wound HONOR MOORE, Variation, the Birth of Lincoln West TRACI BRIMHALL, Humbug Epithalamium LEONTIA FLYNN, 1982 DOROTHEA LASKY, A Final and Unrepentant, Silent, Sorry Bird TERESE SVOBODA, Bird Boy TANA JEAN WELCH, Sanctuary JANE YOLEN, Solitaire NICOLE COOLEY, Of Marriage: River, Lake and Vein COLLEEN MCELROY, Throwing Stones at the All White Pool ALISON HAWTHORNE DEMING, Cartoon NATHAN HOKS, The Empathy Nest AMY LEMMON, Logistics for Thursday RACHEL MCKIBBENS, Black Friday LEAH UMANSKY, The Left-Hour TRACY K. SMITH, Semi-Splendid BARON WORMSER, Sentence RACHEL CONTRENI FLYNN, Daughter-Mother ADAM M. LEVIN, We were gonna go through with it, and then we lost it. PATRICIA MCCARTHY, Childless Woman SHARON OLDS, Missing Miss Brooks KEVIN PRUFER, From the Hospital JOSHUA MARIE WILKINSON, My Own Dead RICHARD ZABRANSKY, The Single Neighbor Threatens My Family AMA CODJOE, Body of a Woman, Tail of a Fish ANDREA HOLLANDER, Her Mouth, His Eyes JOYELLE MCSWEENEY, ASEA RICHARD POWERS, So I Wait AL YOUNG, Key to the Dollar Store RITA DOVE, From the Sidelines JACKIE WILLS, Johannesburg 2013 DAVID LEHMAN, Exact Change WESLEY ROTHMAN, Incarceration Blues JON DAVIS, Of Gwendolyn Brooks ELIZABETH MACKLIN, Some Glowing in the Common Blood MICHAEL RYAN, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. TARA BETTS, Go BOB HOLMAN, One Wants a Teller in a Time like This AMANDA AUCHTER, Mary AARON SAMUELS, When Grandma Goes to the Moon JOHN HEGLEY, Pygmalion Director Wishes to Enliven Production KIM ADDONIZIO, Queen of the Game JENNIFER PERRINE, From Iraq, A Tattoo DAVID BAKER, Stolen Sonnet ASIA CALCAGNO, Gravestones HELEN FROST, Softer Sounds ROGER ROBINSON, Brixton Revo 2011 HOA NGUYEN, Offbeat WILLIAM STOBB, Cousin DAN SULLIVAN, There Are Mornings FLORENCE LADD, Sadie and Maud GAIL CARSON LEVINE, Maud and Sadie DANIELLE CADENA DEULEN, Medics MARK DOTY, Advice from Ms. Brooks, With Elaborations CHERISE A. POLLARD, Reflections on Invictus MAUREEN SEATON, Bigly in the Wild Weed MALIKA BOOKER, A Parable of Sorts PETER COOLEY, My Life Has Been No Smaller Than My Mind MARIAHADESSA EKERE TALLIE, Gap-Toothed Woman LINDSAY HUNTER, Our Home JACOB POLLEY, Twelve Weeks JON SANDS, Statue DIANE SEUSS, back yard song EVIE SHOCKLEY, song in the back yard JEANANN VERLEE, Careful the Blood FRED WAH, Somewhere where JAMAAL MAY, The Names of Leaves in War MICHELE PARKER RANDALL, Breaking House TIMOTHY YU, Moon MARILYN NELSON, Bird-Feeder RAYMOND ANTROBUS, The Artist HANNAH SRAJER, Third Infidelity ONI BUCHANAN, Pasted to Stars Already TISHANI DOSHI, Strong Men, Riding Horses DOUGLAS KEARNEY, The Strong Strong Men Riding Strong Strong Horses after the West TERI CROSS DAVIS, One Night Stand EILEEN MYLES, Hot Water RAVI SHANKAR, The Narcissist Breaks Up DARA WIER, For Gwendolyn Brooks MAXINE CHERNOFF, The sun had dimmed already DANIEL DONAGHY, Somerset MARIA MAZZIOTTI GILLAN, In Honor of Gwendolyn Brooks: A Shovel Poem LANGSTON KERMAN, This Feels Permanent DORIANNE LAUX, Lapse E. ETHELBERT MILLER, Just a Friend after Sunset NII AYIKWEI PARKES, Awaiting Dawn LINDA PASTAN, One Day Soon FIONA SAMPSON, Travel Literature LEE UPTON, Already DANIELLE ZIPKIN, Cold Sore ELEANOR WILNER, Over and Over and All YONA HARVEY, Necessarily JULIA GLASS, Two Poems for Alec TONY TRIGILIO, To Be in Love SHARON G. FLAKE, She never saw life as hard BOB HICOK, Oath CAMARA BROWN, What I would ask of Manman Brigitte after seeing the African Burial Ground CHRIS HAVEN, The dark hangs heavily INDIGO WILLIAMS, Truth PHILIP GROSS, Memento Mori FRANCINE J. HARRIS, The Lot, Vacant Then MARY CALVIN, 1950: Norco, Louisiana STUART DISCHELL, Parisian Shuffle CAMILLE T. DUNGY, Because it looked hotter that way JOY HARJO, An American Sunrise ELLEN HOPKINS, How Cool Are We? GAHL LIBERZON, The Old NZ TYLER MILLS, Hansel in College DOROTHY MOORE, Cool Kids SHARON OLDS, Thanks to Miss Brooks HALEY PATAIL, The Golden Shovel (to bury the ghost) KADIJA SESAY, Kriolising Kulcha MAGS WEBSTER, Jessie from the Golden Shovel SHOLEH WOLPÉ, We, the Basij ALYSSA KELLY, Unforgivable LEONA SEVICK, A Love Story DAN BEACHY-QUICK, Places Never Gathered WANG PING, She Shall Not Be DEXTER L. BOOTH, Neo-Afronaut Anthem KIMIKO HAHN, The Real Cool HANA BEACHY-QUICK, Golden Shovel PHIL DACEY, Parenthood KENDRA DECOLO, Last Night On Earth We Go to Wendy's SHARON DOLIN, It takes so little ANTHONY JOSEPH, She threw verbs and arrows at my IAN KHADAN, Death in Brain TONI ASANTE LIGHTFOOT, Middle Dreams BILLY LOMBARDO, At Johnnie's after Basketball Practice NICK MAKOHA, The Shepherd . . . BLAKE MORRISON, The Road to Wales JOHN O'CONNOR, Immigrant KEVIN SIMMONDS, Social Security DOROTHEA SMARTT, Headway DAVID ST. JOHN, Robert Johnson's Double-Edged Shovel JEAN VALENTINE, Poem with Endwords by Reginald Shephard KAREN MCCARTHY WOOLF, Of Ownership AVERY R. YOUNG, pedagogy of a whoopin RAPHAEL ALLISON, Double Golden Shovel JULIA ALVAREZ, Behind the Scenes ELLEN BASS, Morning (a twisted shovel) MELISA CAHNMANN-TAYLOR, Frijolero Ex-Pats FRED D'AGUIAR, Golden Shovel Borrowed from Derek Walcott and Gwendolyn Brooks CALVIN FORBES, The Devil's Own DAVID GILMER, When a Grief Has Come KEITH JARRETT, Outside St. Dominic's Priory. Snapshot, July 2015. AMIT MAJMUDAR, Selected Psalms from the Book of Brooks CAROL MUSKE-DUKES, Accident MOLLY PEACOCK, The Art of the Stroke: TOM SLEIGH, Net JACINDA TOWNSEND, Father BUDDY WAKEFIELD, A Private Service Announcement TYRONE WILLIAMS, That's Mr. Robert Johnson to You ZOSY J. ARGUETA, Figure It Out CORINA ROBINSON, Royalty AMRITA CHAKRABORTY, Cold Alchemy MARLENA WADLEY, Gemini CHLÖE MOBLEY, Mad Boy / Sad Boy at School Afterword Title Index Author Index

Editorial Reviews

The cross-section of poets with varying poetics and styles gathered here is only one of the many admirable achievements of this volume.

The New York Times Book Review - Claudia Rankine

The Golden Shovel Anthology is quite simply a brilliant assembly of the work of poets I have admired for years and ones that I have just come to know and admire. I felt the thrill of creation reading it—the generative taking root, making me want to both read more and immerse myself in the form, in Brooks’s poems, and then write my own as these poets have done with remarkable range. This is an anthology that will be of great value to readers and writers of poetry for generations to come—just as Gwendolyn Brooks was, and is. What a way to honor her memory, her generosity of spirit, and her tremendous contributions to American poetry.”

—Natasha Trethewey, former US poet laureate and winner of the Pulitzer Prize

From the Publisher