Words Under the Words: Selected Poems (A Far Corner Book) [Paperback]

Naomi Shihab Nye (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A political, spiritual Palestinian-American from Texas, Naomi Nye illuminates some of the subtler aspects of human experience in this volume of poems drawn from three previous collections. She ponders everything from the donor of a now-broken music box to a little girl clenching her fist against death, using absolute clarity of imagery and a gentle, authoritative voice to make her visions accessible. She also poses such unanswerable questions as "What makes a man with a gun seem bigger/ than a man with almonds?" -- making it a thought-provoking read.

From Library Journal

While Nye's technique is nearly flawless, this is not the mere shaping of superficial little boxes. Lyrically, calmly, she describes an Edenic landscape where "hands are churches that worship the world." Nye is philosophical, yes, but too delighted with her own findings to impose them on a reader. Instead, we find integrity, sincerity, and gentleness: the poet trying to remember who gave her a now-broken music box, the little girl making a fist against death, the woman who can "find holiness in anything/that continues." The poems in the last third of this book focus directly on Nye's Palestinian American heritage, as the poet tours the Mideast, inquisitive and frustrated. Drawn from three previous collections, this selection coincides with the publication of Red Suitcase, a volume of new work (BOA Editions, 1994). All in all, an accomplished writer still searching for a unique voice.
Rochelle Ratner, formerly Poetry Editor, "Soho Weekly News," New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: The Eighth Mountain Press; 1st edition (October 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0933377290
• ISBN-13: 978-0933377295
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #301,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Naomi Shihab Nye, poet, essayist, anthologist, has been a recipient of writing fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation and the Witter Bynner Foundation/Library of Congress. Author of more than twenty volumes, her recent books inc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Language of Compassion, July 28, 2002

By 

Virginia Lore "rumtussle" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Words Under the Words: Selected Poems (A Far Corner Book) (Paperback)

Naomi Shihab Nye is Palestinian-American and currently lives in Texas. Words Under the Words is a collection of works from three earlier books: Different Ways to Pray, Hugging the Jukebox, and Yellow Glove. In this collection, her poetry celebrates the interconnectedness of the human spirit and the ordinary world. A stranger's eyes, once met, become the eyes of a fellow (Eye-to-Eye, p. 11); a serving woman's lined face tells a story of great worth (The Indian in the Kitchen, p.4); and images of Guatemala eulogize the passing of indigenous culture in service to the industrial world (Getting Through the Day, p. 69).

Nye's poetry is informed by her sense of place: Kindness (p.42) could have been written nowhere but from Colombia. Before you learn the solemnity of kindness, she writes, you must see a dead person lying roadside. "You must see how this could be you/how he, too, was someone/who journeyed through the night with plans/and the simple breath that kept him alive." Many of the poems in this book have been written from different Central and South American countries-others in the Middle East, in the United States-there is even a poem about being lost in Kansas.

In an interview with Rachel Berenblat, Nye said she has written poems from childhood. "I liked the portable, comfortable shape of poems," she said. "I liked the way they took you to a deeper, quieter place, almost immediately." It is no surprise, then, that these poems are accessible and harmonious, written in the language of empathy and compassion.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Divine poetry without the flowers, December 13, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Words Under the Words: Selected Poems (A Far Corner Book) (Paperback)

Ms. Nye brings together so many elements of her life, one is sure to strike a chord with everyone who reads this book. Her words, while descriptive, never fail to invoke more than just their surface meaning. I find it best to read each poem three times, right in a row. The first to absorb the flavor and place, the second to garner the depths and colors that are only implied, and third to bring its meaning home, to own the poem as if it were my own words. Her beautiful style is simple and clear, yet embroidered with care for meaning and love for language. I highly recommend this book to poetry lovers others who enjoy pictures made with words.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real life poetry, March 28, 2001

By 

Umber76 (Brookline, MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Words Under the Words: Selected Poems (A Far Corner Book) (Paperback)

I have always felt that I couldn't "understand" poetry, but these poems spoke to me. I came across this book by accident, but once I started reading it, I couldn't part with it. I felt compelled to buy a copy. The beauty of Ms. Nye's poetry lies in its unpretentious yet eloquent simplicity. The poems are full of everyday events, people, emotions - yet express such profound ideas. They are full of humanity, good-will, and self-discovery. This is a book that would appeal to even the most "unliterary" person.