What the Living Do

Name: What the Living Do
Brand: Unknown
SKU: 9780393318869
Price: 29.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

Poems

By Marie Howe

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( 5,331 ratings, 536 reviews)

Summary

What the Living Do is a poignant poetry collection shaped by the loss of Marie Howe's beloved brother. Through intimate and honest verses, it explores the complexities of childhood—its mix of joy, sorrow, and discovery—and reveals how grief can teach us to live more fully. The poems radiate a feminine confessional style that is heartfelt yet composed, offering a fresh and powerful meditation on love, loss, and life.
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Format: Paperback / softback

$29⁹⁹

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What the Living Do

$29⁹⁹

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 collection appeals to readers of contemporary poetry and those interested in explorations of grief, family, and the human condition through a tender, confessional voice. Fans of poets such as Sharon Olds and Jane Kenyon will find much to appreciate.

"A deeply beautiful book, with the fierce galloping pace of a great novel."—Liz Rosenberg Boston Globe

Winner of the (US) National Book Award for Poetry in 1998.

Description

Informed by the death of a beloved brother, here are the stories of childhood, its thicket of sex and sorrow and joy, boys and girls growing into men and women, stories of a brother who in his dying could teach how to be most alive. What the Living Do reflects "a new form of confessional poetry, one shared to some degree by other women poets such as Sharon Olds and Jane Kenyon. Unlike the earlier confessional poetry of Plath, Lowell, Sexton et al., Howe's writing is not so much a moan or a shriek as a song. It is a genuinely feminine form...a poetry of intimacy, witness, honesty, and relation" (Boston Globe).

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 the book for its palpable and redemptive love, with the Minneapolis Star Tribune noting, "The love in this book is tangible and redemptive." Reviews highlight Howe’s ability to convey profound feeling through graceful, understated language free of sentimentality. The Memphis Commercial Appeal commends her passionate yet detached tone, while the Providence Sunday Journal calls her a "truth-teller of the first order" with near-invisible artistry. Esteemed poets like Stanley Kunitz and Mark Doty acclaim the collection’s luminous intensity and innovative elegy form.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780393318869

Publisher: WW Norton & Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 April 1999

Country: United States

Imprint: WW Norton & Co

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 8.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 211.0mm

Weight: 127g

Pages: 96

Collections

Arts & Culture Marie Howe Non-Fiction Poetry

About the Author

Marie Howe is the author of The Good Thief, What the Living Do, and The Kingdom of Ordinary Time. She teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in New York City.

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