Infanta (National Poetry Series) [Paperback]

Erin Belieu (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Selected by Hayden Carruth as part of the National Poetry Series, this collection from Erin Belieu is funny, sexy, sad, and smart. Belieu sets her sights on such subjects as a hideous chair, the way a tick's attentions might remind one of certain sexual practices, and the way an unprovoked bee sting becomes a lesson in the ways of the world. Robert Pinsky identifies Belieu as "a distinctive new voice."

From Publishers Weekly

Selected for the National Poetry Series by Hayden Carruth, Belieu's first book achieves a delicate balance between personal experience and the observation of others'; each perspective doubles in power by being reflected in its opposite. Though laced through with fierce words and harsh subjects, these poems contain a gentleness that leans toward lyricism. After fending off an attempted rape, the speaker sees her attacker walking away, a "pathetic silhouette." The poet searches for sensuality in a wide assortment of voices: one speaker finds beauty in simply being able "to fit/ the curve your body questions," while in a fairy-tale poem "Rose Red," a young woman contrives to lie with a bear "innocently/ at first, then not so, curled behind him,/ running her thumbnail down his spine." With offhanded rhyme and specific forms, e.g., a rondeau, Belieu enhances the effect of her poems' highly original content.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Copper Canyon Press; 1st edition (April 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556591012
• ISBN-13: 978-1556591013
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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