100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Fast Overnight NZ-wide Delivery 🚀

Citizen

4.0 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 34 ratings, 3 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Citizen by Aaron Shurin is a celebrated collection that redefines the prose poem with lyrical finesse and innovative form. Shurin delves into the intricacies of civic and domestic life, weaving sensuous imagery and fluid, shape-shifting sentences. Through his kaleidoscopic visions, the work explores urban landscapes, intimate desires, and the subtle brilliance of everyday objects, inviting readers into a vibrant imaginative world between the present and the future.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Citizen. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This work will appeal to readers who appreciate experimental poetry and prose poems with rich imagery and emotional depth. Fans of contemporary lyricism and explorations of urban and intimate life will find Citizen captivating.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

In Citizen Aaron Shurin has collected sixty-eight vibrant new poems that are by turns romantic, visceral, edgy, and unabashedly beautiful.

Print: Pitch a combination of reviews/interviews/excerpts: SF Chronicle, SF Bay Guardian, SF Weekly, Bookforum, New York Review of Books, Boston Review, Rain Taxi, Poetry Magazine, American Poet, Bloomsbury Review, Brooklyn Rail, Chicago Review, Denver Quarterly, Hudson Review, Kenyon Review, LA Times, NY Times, The Nation, New Yorker, Poetry Flash, Poets and Writers Magazine, St Marks Poetry Project Newsletter. We'll send to top poetry reviewers who freelance for the major publications that review poetry (New Yorker, NY Times, etc.): Adam Kirsch, Stephen Burt, David Orr, William Logan, Dan Chiasson, etc. We'll also send to gay interest publications. And to his alumni mag at UC Berkeley. We will contact the communications dept. at USF (where he teaches). They should help spread the word among staff, students, and alumni. We'll send to the trades: PW, Booklist, and Library Journal.

Web: Rumpus (reviewed his previous book), Poetry Daily, BOMB, Silliman's blog, Complete Review, Constant Critic, Conversational Reading, Electric Review, Elegant Variation, Identity Theory, NYer's Book Bench, Bookslut, and Shelf Awareness.

Radio: KPFA Cover to Cover, Writer's Almanac.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Widely acclaimed for his lyrical language and innovative verse, Aaron Shurin brings the prose poem into new richness and complexity in Citizen. Through shape-shifting sentences and sensuous imagery, he explores the nuances of civic and domestic life, the twists and turns of desire, and the mysterious shimmer of objects.

Traveling across the borders of cities and the boundaries of form, he crafts a dazzling vision of daily life as a citizen of the imagination.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics praise Citizen for its subtlety and lyrical intensity. Rob McClennan notes the understated cadence with "invisible turns" that reward close reading. Melissa Hohl highlights Shurin's ability to transport readers to dynamic urban and domestic realms, blending beauty and complexity. Richard Labonte lauds the bursts of sensual, controlled excess and emotional nuance, calling it vivid, vital, and inviting.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780872865204

Publisher: City Lights Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 February 2012

Country: United States

Imprint: City Lights Books

Illustration: Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 184.0mm

Weight: 99g

Pages: 88

About the Author

Aaron Shurin is the author of ten books of poetry and prose, most recently King of Shadows, a collection of personal essays (City Lights, 2008). His work has appeared in over thirty national and international anthologies, and has been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Romanian, Slovenian, Ukrainian, and Greek. His honors include literary fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the San Francisco Arts Commission, and the Gerbode Foundation. A longtime educator, Shurin is a Professor in the MFA Writing Program at the University of San Francisco.

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    Hardback
    $5999
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Home Again
    Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    New Release
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Buy to Win
    Did I Ever Tell You This?
    In this unexpected memoir, written in a creative burst of just a few months in 2022, Sam Neill tells the story of how he became one of the world’s most celebrated actors, who has worked with everyone from Meryl Streep to Isabel Adjani, from Jeff Goldblum to Sean Connery, from Steven Spielberg to Jane Campion. By his own account, his...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $7299
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • They Bloom Because of You
    Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. ‘A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.’ - Hilary Swank ‘A book to keep close and...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3600
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Iliad
    When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017—revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)—critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    Backorder
    Ships mid September
  • Buy to Win
    On Sale
    14% off
    Leaves of Grass
    A collectible new Penguin Classics series offers beautiful, slim, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets. In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouragement led to what would become a lifelong project, as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death...
    Hardback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Devotions
    New York Times Bestseller, chosen as Oprah's 'Books That Help Me Through' for Oprah's Book Club Chosen by Poetry Book Society as their special commendation 'No matter where one starts reading, Devotions offers much to love, from Oliver's exuberant dog poems to selections from the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Primitive, and Dream Work, one of her exceptional collections. Perhaps more important,...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Buy to Win
    The Odyssey
    The The Odyssey by Homer is a timeless epic that chronicles the adventures of the legendary Greek hero, Odysseus, as he endeavours to return home to Ithaca following the conclusion of the Trojan War. This monumental journey spans ten arduous years, during which Odysseus encounters a myriad of natural and supernatural challenges. From shipwrecks and ferocious battles to formidable monsters...
    By Homer
    Hardback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    37% off
    Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them
    Throughout history, cats and writers have bonded together in a magical combination of comfort, companionship and inspiration. The famous authors featured here range from Samuel Johnson, whose cat Hodge dined on oysters, and Edward Lear, whose charismatic cat Foss was missing half his tail, to Margaret Mitchell, L. M. Montgomery and Dorothy L. Sayers, who rescued her kitten Blitz from...
    Hardback
    $2500
    Usually:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Beautiful Chaos
    The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.