Customer Reviews

Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir 1969-1980 (American Poets Continuum)

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I love reading Lucille Clifton's poetry. I get a real sense of her person, her pain, her history. Some poems are so moving, I can't help but cry. I am stunned to find such fine wording, the way she knows just what word to use. Some of her word choices are unusual....they're not a way that one would have thought of that word, but in the context of the poem, the word finds a home, makes sense. Additionally, she expresses her appreciation of the earth in almost religious terms; her exploration of religion in her poetry is extremely appealing to me. She seems to have a sense of appreciation for, and sympathetic understanding of, the characters (Job, Moses especially) in the Bible, I feel closer to them myself when viewing them through her eyes. I like this book also because you feel the strength of the woman behind the words, she's wise, she's had her pain, but she's able to celebrate those things in life that are worth celebrating -- love, family, simple pleasures and even her own hair and hips. I love too many poems to list here, but you should go to your library and read these poems; even if you don't buy the book, these poems should find a place in your life: Salt, The Lesson of the Falling Leaves, Mary, Cutting Greens....so many more. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Lucille Clifton has always been one of my favorite poets. Her accessible poetry captures in moving, eloquent verse living in the world. Her unique voice speaks in language that is not unnecessarily dense and "cerebral": an especially desirable trait given the frequently written complaint regarding lack of readership for modern poetry. Lucille Clifton writes poetry we ALL can relate to, not just the academics and, to be a little unkind, poetry "snobs". Recommended highly.

Lucille Clifton is my aunt, my father's sister. However, my father was absent, so to me, this book is more than a collection of poems or casual redaing but a true gift of my own family history in black and white, a history that I wasn't aware of. Now that I it has given me strength. My friends and I summon up my aunt's namesake, the ORIGINAL Lucille (!)anytime we need to lay down the law! Thank you Aunt Lucille for your gift and for this gift to me.

Lucille Clifton's GOOD WOMAN is an excellent volume of poetry. Moreover, the memoir challenges the traditional exercise of writing the self and experience that merits articulation. Clifton's poems and imagery rarely disappoint, but name the unspoken and bring greater consciousness and empowerment.