Kevin young is the director of the schomburg center for research in black culture and poetry editor for the new yorker. He tells fresh air s terry gross that, in a way, those events. Youngs collection the book of hours knopf, 2014 won the 2015 lenore marshall poetry prize. In book of hours, kevin young s eighth poetry collection, he marks the tenth anniversary of his fathers sudden and unexpected death in poems that recount the process of bereavement and creates a language of loss while also celebrating life through accounts of the birth of his son winner of the lenore marshall prize from the academy of american poets, book of hours has been called an.
Kevin young s most popular book is the fire this time. On the blackness of blackness won the graywolf nonfiction prize, was a new york times notable book for 2012, a finalist for the national book critics circle award for criticism, and winner of the pen open award. Knopf, 2014, winner of the 2015 lenore marshall poetry prize. Ive read plenty of books about grief and about coming through grief in my life, but ive never before encountered a book that gets it as right as kevin young s book of hours. Shop the latest titles by kevin young at alibris including hardcovers, paperbacks, 1st editions, and audiobooks from thousands of sellers worldwide. Young brilliantly conveys the struggles and triumphs of those oppressed by slavery, economic hardship after emancipation, jim crow laws and prejudice that still tinge life todaytremendous depth and breadthbuilds toward the gorgeous work from book of hours, where the speaker deals with the loss of his father and his own impending. Apr 01, 2014 kevin young is the author of eight books of poetry and editor of eight others. Kevin young is the author of a previous book of nonfiction, the grey album, and eleven books of poetry, including blue laws, which was longlisted for the national book award. Auden, elizabeth bishop, lucille clifton, robert creeley, marianne moore, and mark strand. Kevin is bestowed with the donald justice award from the fellowship of southern writers april 2015.
Kevin young is the author of seven previous books of poetry, including ardency. Kevin young was born on november 8, 1970, in lincoln, nebraska. The new african american poetry is an essential and wideranging. Throughout his career, young has demonstrated a predilection for the pun, a device he uses in the. From 20052016, kevin young served as curator of the raymond danowski poetry librarya 75,000volume collection of rare and modern poetry housed at emory university. Nov 28, 2015 kevin young s new book of poetry is entitled book of hours knopf, 2014 and it is, as usual, excellent work from perhaps the greatestor least the bestknown. The rise of hoaxes, humbug, plagiarists, phonies, post. The 33yearold was found guilty of the hot springs village police dispatchers killing on the fourth day of his trial after just more than four hours of deliberation by the jury. A decade after the sudden and tragic loss of his father, we witness the unfolding of grief. Like i have come to know sorrows not noun but verb, something that, unlike living, by doing right you do less of. In his eighth book of poems, book of hours, kevin young poignantly chronicles the daytoday unfolding of these events. Melanie duneacpi photo book of hours, kevin young s heartfelt, beautifully crafted new collection of poems, is a chronicle of a. Sports angels dodgers chargers rams ducks kings lakers high. Knopf, out tomorrow, tears fall from the allseeing eye.
Kevin young has 57 books on goodreads with 70025 ratings. These excerpts from book of hours provide only a small glimpse of why kevin young is a master of the compact verse and a master at making profoun and in the poem wintering, he explains how mourning, ive learned, is just a moment, many, grief the long betrothal beyond. Ending this book of both birth and grief, the gorgeous title sequence brings acceptance, asking what goodare. Capturing the strange silence of bereavement, kevin young acknowledges, even celebrates, lifes passages, his loss transformed and tempered in a sequence about the birth of his son. In his eighth poetry collection, young ardency offers an impressively musical exploration of grief and endurance. One of the most important books of the year in any category. Kevin young, whom the washington post calls one of the most important poets of his generation, is a poet, essayist, curator and poetry editor for the new yorker. There he printed his first broadside, reward, which would become the first poem in his first book most way home. Apr 12, 2014 awardwinning poet and essayist kevin young called boston home for years, but now he is claimed by atlanta, where he teaches creative writing at emory university and curates the raymond danowski. Poems about the death of his father are followed by poems about the birth of his son in kevin youngs new collection book of hours. Kevin young is a master poet who has offered us a transformative curation of life, death and the ways in which we deal with it all in book of hours. Kevin young official website books and anthologies by.
Book of hours wins the lenore marshall poetry prize from the academy of american poets september 2015. Mar 04, 2014 kevin young is a phenomenal poet, and this book winds deftly through the caverns of mourning, love, remembering, life, and loss. Blue laws demonstrates why kevin young is one of the most important poets of his generation. Young is the author of fourteen books of poetry and prose, including brown. Kevin young is a phenomenal poet, and this book winds deftly through the caverns of mourning, love, remembering, life, and loss. Mar 03, 2014 on the jacket cover of kevin young s forthcoming collection of poems book of hours alfred a. Mar 07, 2014 kevin young will appear at a printers row event march.
In book of hours, kevin chronicles and links two profound life experiences. Essential reading about the american experience from colonial times to the present. Mar 04, 2014 in kevin youngs new collection, book of hours, poems about the death of his father appear alongside poems about the birth of his son. Named one of the ten essential poetry titles for 2014 by. This is just what young conveys in these new pages, where no sorrow is spared. The rise of hoaxes, humbug, plagiarists, phonies, postfacts, and fake news graywolf press, 2017 was longlisted for the national book award. In book of hours, kevin young s eighth poetry collection, he marks the tenth anniversary of his fathers sudden and unexpected death in poems that recount the process of bereavement and creates a language of loss while also celebrating life through accounts of the birth of his son. Kevin duck, convicted friday morning in the 2011 murder of girlfriend dawna natzke, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Carolyn forche and kevin read in a joint event at awp april 2015. Kevin young is the director of the national museum of african american history and culture, and poetry editor of the new yorker, where he hosts the poetry podcast. Jonathan sturgeon, flavorwire a rich and musical selection of young s work, a book that will make you hungry, sad, sing the blues, and love the ones you love a little harder. This book is a victory lap after nine collections for young, who already has a cupboard full of poetryworld honorifics and gewgaws. Blue laws gathers poems written over the past two decades, drawing from all nine of kevin young s. A beautiful book of both grief and birth from the awardwinning poet whose work thrills his audience with its immediate emotional impact and.
Its one of those rare reading experiences that i recognized, even as i read it, as a book i was going to buy over and over again, to give as a gift to friends whove had. Nov 06, 20 kevin young was commissioned to write an essay and series of poems based on the ideas emanating from stouts work for the exhibition catalogue. Lauded today as one of the poetry stars of his generation. Life in prison for kevin duck after murder conviction. A chronicle of the amistad rebels won the 2012 american book award. The first two sections of kevin young s latest poetry collection, book of hours, treat the accidental death of his father while hunting, illustrating a complex portrait of a grieving son.
Drawing its title from the illuminated manuscripts that contained psalms and. Book of hours, kevin youngs heartfelt, beautifully crafted new collection of poems, is a chronicle of a series of seismic changes in his life. I lost my mother not too long ago, and the poems in this collection continual struck a chord within me. A decade after the sudden and tragic loss of the poets father, we witness the unfolding of grief. He studied under seamus heaney and lucie brockbroido at harvard university and, while a student there, became a member of the dark room collective, a community of african american writers. Young notes, the anthology includes poems in poets of african. He is the director of the schomburg center for research in black culture in harlem. He is also the editor of eight other collections, most recently the hungry ear. Named one of the ten essential poetry titles for 2014 by library journal, the book s. Kevin young talks about loss, joy, and book of hours.
Oct, 2015 kevin young is the author of seven previous books of poetry, including ardency. Kevin young s book of hours exemplifies what poetry can do in the world when language works at its full power. Throughout his career, young has demonstrated a predilection for the pun, a device he uses in the poem bereavement to mitigate his pain. He is the author of twelve books of poetry and prose, including blue laws. A chronicle of the amistad rebels, winner of a 2012 american book award, and jelly roll, a finalist for the national book award. Since its earliest days, the academy of american poets has been guided by an honorary board of chancellors composed of established and awardwinning poets who serve as advisors to the organization and judge its largest prizes for poets. Now in paperback, from the awardwinning author of jelly roll and book of hours, a rich and lively gathering of highlights from the first twenty years of an extraordinary career, interspersed with b sides and bonus tracks from this prolific and widely acclaimed poet. Mar 07, 2014 book of hours, kevin young s heartfelt, beautifully crafted new collection of poems, is a chronicle of a series of seismic changes in his life. Prior to his appointment at the national museum of african american history and culture, young served as director of the schomburg center for research in black culture.
The first two sections of kevin youngs latest poetry collection, book of hours, treat the accidental death of his father while hunting, illustrating a. A decade after the sudden and tragic loss of his father, we witness t. In the night i brush my teeth with a razor, he tells us, in one of. Book of hours, winner of the lenore marshall prize from the academy of american poets. Book of hours is a finalist for the kingsley tufts poetry award. The poems in this collection hold emotion taut on each line while allowing for the nimbleness of language to drape over them, bringing tension between the heart and the mind, as young consistently surprises us with profound elegance.
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