How to Undress a Cop: Poems [Paperback]

Sarah Cortez (Author), Naomi Shihab Nye (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

It's not every book of poetry that includes an "Ode to Body Armor." But then, it's not every poet whose experience in academia includes a stint at the police academy.

The poems of Sarah Cortez are tough-minded, verbally supple, and often deeply erotic. And each of these fifty lyric poems displays her many facets: the street smarts of a law enforcement officer, the bilingual vocabulary of a proud Mexican American; the linguistic dexterity of an erstwhile Latin teacher; and the frank sensuality of a strong and spirited woman.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"And you thought there was no poetry in police work! This dazzling collection . . . is an entrancing literary quickie..." -- Latina magazine, September 2000:

"Brash and powerful . . . Cortez is unique: She leaves the reader with the tastes of both lipstick and metal in his mouth." -- Robert Phillips, author of Breakdown Lane:

"Full of hard-edged description and fast-flowing narratives ... By turns erotic, tender, and gritty ... Powerfully direct." -- Publishers Weekly:

"Sarah Cortez brings a secret world into poetry, and her crafty first book is nervy, quick-hitting, street-smart, sexual." -- Edward Hirsch, author of Wild Gratitude:

"Searing. Sexy. Stunning. Blunt. Sarah Cortez writes poems amazing in their life-force. Prepare to be startled." -- Naomi Shihab Nye, author of Hugging the Jukebox:

From the Publisher

This debut collection of fifty lyric poems includes a foreword by renowned poet and anthologist Naomi Shihab Nye.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Arte Publico Pr; 1st edition (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558853014
• ISBN-13: 978-1558853010
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,193,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Cortez lives, works, and polices in Houston, Texas. In 1999, she won the PEN Texas Literary Award in Poetry. Her first book of poetry was entitled "How To Undress a Cop." She has edited five volumes and been awarded the Skipping Stones Honor Award for her editing of "Windows into My World: Latino Youth Write Their Lives." Her other recent edited volumes are as follows: "Indian Country Noir" (Akashic Books), "Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery," and "You Don't Have a Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong work, October 8, 2002

By 

[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How to Undress a Cop: Poems (Paperback)

Sarah Cortez is a poet, teacher, and cop in Houston, Texas. Her work is tough, sensual, and very sexual. Her job as a cop and her Latina heritage flavor her poems. This is a beautiful piece of work from a poet who has a lot of potential to be great. She has the flavor of those 'bad girl' poets (like Kim Addonizio, Dorianne Laux, and their matriarch-Edna St. Vincent Millay). This is a strong collection, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Muy Caliente !, March 8, 2001

By 

Erren Geraud Kelly - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Undress a Cop: Poems (Paperback)

whoa...this book is soooo hot, it could scorch your fingers....not many poets can mix erotica with police work and pull it off without making it seem schlocky...in fact, i don't think i've ever read a book like this...rather than cloud her poems with ambiguities, she tell you straight up about what it's like being a cop, a woman, and a mexican american in america, sometimes, all three at the same time...she can make a poem about wearing a bulletproof vest interesting...what i love ( and i mean love ! ) about these poems,is she shows you her world without the taint of political correctness, which i think is the worst thing that has ever happened to art, because it has kept people from saying what they really mean...you see her frustrations as a cop,when she realizes she can't win every battle; the men she works with as she tries to gain their respect...her own struggles in her personal life as she loves men of brown and white shade and possible not a man at all? after reading this book. i respect her for the job she does, and for showing her sensuality unabashed on verse...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AZ Reader, February 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Undress a Cop: Poems (Paperback)

This work is a lifting of the curtain into the world of cops, for without officers of the law our civility in a society that teeters on the fence of good and evil would certainly deteriorate. Poet Cortez brings the dilemmas of the police to the forefront showing poetically the stresses endured by the men and women who devote their lives for mankind. She peers deep into the psyche of cops and through her artistic genius shares their emotions with the rest of us. As you absorb the verses look beyond the written word and feel the current of these eye-opening poems. Thank you Sarah Cortez for sharing them with us.