A. Van Jordan

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Michigan

Poems

A remarkable montage of poems that explore film, poetry, and the elusiveness of reverie.

A. Van Jordan, an acclaimed American poet and the author of three previous volumes, "demonstrates poetry's power to be at once intimate and wide-ranging" (Robert Pinsky, Washington Post Book World). In this penetrating new work he takes us with him to the movies, where history reverberates and characters are larger than life. The Cineaste is an entrancing montage of poems, wherein film serves as the setting for contemplative trances, memoir, and pure fantasy. At its center is a sonnet sequence that imagines the struggle of pioneer filmmaker Oscar Micheaux against D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, which Micheaux saw not only as racist but also as the start of a powerful new art form. "Sharpen the focus in your lens, and you / Sharpen your view of the world; you can see / How people inhabit space in their lives, / How the skin of Negroes and whites both play / With light." Scenes and characters from films such as Metropolis, Stranger than Paradise, Last Year at Marienbad, The Red Shoes, and The Great Train Robbery also come to luminous life in this vibrant new collection. The Cineaste is an extended riff on Jordan's life as a moviegoer and a brilliant exploration of film, poetry, race, and the elusiveness of reverie.

from "Last Year at Marienbad"

A place, though visible, is like a ghost
of memories. Even memories one forgets
linger in the space in which they occurred.
Here within the expanse of vaulted ceilings,

doorways leading to more doors, hallways
leading to more halls, the faintest recollections
absorb over time; no act will wholly evanesce.

Category - Fiction / Poetry

Format - Hardcover

Condition - Excellent

Listed - A year ago

Views - 5

Ships From - Michigan

Est. Publication Date - Apr 2013

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Category - Fiction / Poetry

Format - Hardcover

Condition - Excellent

Listed - A year ago

Views - 5

Ships From - Michigan

Est. Publication Date - Apr 2013

Additional Information

Publisher Description

The Cineaste

By:

$2.50

Condition

Format

Meet the seller

Discover more

The Cineaste

By: A. Van Jordan

'The Cineaste' readers also enjoyed:

Additional titles by A. Van Jordan

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