{"product_id":"so-to-speak-isbn-9780143137726","title":"So to Speak","description":"\u003cb\u003eA powerful, timely, dazzling new collection of poems from Terrance Hayes, the   National Book Award–winning author of \u003ci\u003eLighthead\u003c\/i\u003e—to be published simultaneously with his latest work of literary criticism, \u003ci\u003eWatch Your Language \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe three sections of Terrance Hayes’ seventh collection explore how we see ourselves and our world, mapping the strange and lyrical grammar of thinking and feeling. In “Watch Your Mouth,” a tree frog sings to overcome its fear of birds; in “Watch Your Step: The Kafka Virus,” a talking cat tells jokes in the Jim Crow South; in “Watch Your Head,“ green beans bling in the mouth of Lil Wayne, and Bob Ross paints your portrait. On the one hand, these fabulous fables, American sonnets, quarantine quatrains, and ekphrastic do-it-yourself sestinas animate what Toni Morrison called “the writerly imagination of a black author who is at some level always conscious of representing one’s own race.” On the other hand, these urgent, personal poems contemplate fatherhood, history, and longing with remarkable openness and humanity. \u003ci\u003eSo To Speak\u003c\/i\u003e is the mature, restless work of one of contemporary poetry’s leading voices.\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eSo to Speak\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“These are pieces that fuse trauma and humor, erudition and silliness in ways that somehow preserve those disparate qualities.” —Ron Charles, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hayes is a maestro of poetic forms and these poems sing with a musical dexterity that embraces vulnerability and ambiguity . . . [\u003ci\u003eSo to Speak\u003c\/i\u003e] reads like an ambitious mixed-media project questioning the role of art in representing suffering . . . Soul-searching questions ripple through a series of electrifying American Sonnets about James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, Octavia E Butler, Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone, reimagining the works and voices of many black cultural icons.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“[Terrance Hayes] is a virtuoso, fully confident in his ability to bend established rules like the many African-American icons, from Prince to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Octavia Butler, he invokes in the poems of this extraordinary book.” —Robert Archambeau\u003ci\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Hudson Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hayes’ poems never fail to play, thrillingly, with the constraints of form, and they engage with culture, past and present, while remaining deeply rooted in the personal. Don’t miss this one.” —\u003ci\u003eLit Hub\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] polyphonic, multivalent collection of poetry . . . Hayes' role as an oracle of the auricular remains remarkable . . . The poet's nimble knowledge of music and visual arts is notable . . . Throughout, Hayes continues to stretch the limits of language and explore the far regions of English, while his formal experimentation shines . . . May this poet's brilliance always shine.” —\u003ci\u003eBooklist \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review) \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Across three various and virtuosic sections, Hayes examines the personal and public, from fatherhood to the murder of George Floyd, in his muscular and meditative seventh collection. With a masterful eye for image and description . . . Hayes’s writing unfolds musically and dynamically . . . These original, ruminative poems showcase one of the most rightly acclaimed poets writing today.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This book is truly innovative on an aesthetic level and on a political level. Hayes is one of the few poets who has figured out how to fuse politics with lyricism in ways that are both clever and impactful. And more importantly, the book does not compromise emotional depth, but rather, embraces it, which makes the politicized moments all the more insightful.... \u003ci\u003eSo to Speak\u003c\/i\u003e is worth picking up and reading more than once.\" —Andrea Syzdek\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Like the great composers and musicians—like Thelonious and Miles, like Bach—Hayes is ever witty and elegant. His concerns are unexpected and yet right on time. His verse is so close to music, you’ll wonder if you’re reading words or notes. Solemnly elegiac and brokenheartedly playful, \u003ci\u003eSo to Speak\u003c\/i\u003e is poetry of pure genius.” —Toi Derricotte\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hayes’ new work is as vital and energetic as ever, but there’s also a new tone in many places here—penitent, self-inculpatory. These are the poems of a certain age: scars so old others must tell you how they are made. Hayes’ invention allows his poetry to house almost anything: from the political to the sensual, from a magic goat to a talking cat. He is a singular poet, and this book a singular achievement.” —Nick Laird\u003cb\u003eTerrance Hayes\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eLighthead\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of   the 2010 National Book Award and a finalist for the National Book Critics   Circle Award. His other poetry collections are \u003ci\u003eAmerican Sonnets for My   Past and Future Assassin\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHow to Be Drawn\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWind in a Box\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHip   Logic\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eMuscular Music\u003c\/i\u003e, and he is also the author of \u003ci\u003eTo   Float in the Space Between: A Life and Work in Conversation with the Life and   Work of Etheridge Knight\u003c\/i\u003e, which was a finalist for the National Book   Critics Circle Award for criticism. His honors include a National Endowment   for the Arts Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a 2014 MacArthur   Fellowship. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Hayes lives   in New York City, where he is a professor of creative writing at NYU.","brand":"Penguin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303112888549,"sku":"NP9780143137726","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780143137726.jpg?v=1767736856","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/so-to-speak-isbn-9780143137726","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}