Words Under the Words: Selected Poems

by Naomi Shihab Nye

Overview

Words Under the Words gathers into a single volume the finest poems by one of the most exciting, accessible poets in America today. This long-awaited collection draws from Naomi Shihab Nye's three critically acclaimed books: Different Ways to Pray, Yellow Glove, and National Poetry Series winner, Hugging the Jukebox.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780933377295
Publisher:	The Eighth Mountain Press
Publication date:	10/01/1994
Series:	A Far Corner Book
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	1,079,882
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.46(d)

Editorial Reviews

While Nye's technique is nearly flawless, this is not the mere shaping of superficial little boxes. Lyrically, calmly, she describes an Edenic landscape where "hands are churches that worship the world." Nye is philosophical, yes, but too delighted with her own findings to impose them on a reader. Instead, we find integrity, sincerity, and gentleness: the poet trying to remember who gave her a now-broken music box, the little girl making a fist against death, the woman who can "find holiness in anything/that continues." The poems in the last third of this book focus directly on Nye's Palestinian American heritage, as the poet tours the Mideast, inquisitive and frustrated. Drawn from three previous collections, this selection coincides with the publication of Red Suitcase, a volume of new work (BOA Editions, 1994). All in all, an accomplished writer still searching for a unique voice.-Rochelle Ratner, formerly Poetry Editor, "Soho Weekly News," New York

Library Journal