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Thomas and Beulah (Carnegie Mellon Poetry Series) Paperback – January 1, 1986

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Rita Dove (Author)
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Rita Dove (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 12 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Series: Carnegie Mellon Poetry Series
  • Paperback: 80 pages
  • Publisher: Carnegie Mellon; First Edition edition (January 1, 1986)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0887480217
  • ISBN-13: 978-0887480218
  • Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.3 x 8.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsFabulous.
By Robert Beveridge HALL OF FAMEVINE VOICE on May 17, 2004
Format: Paperback
Rita Dove, Thomas and Beulah (1987, Carnegie Mellon)
Rita Dove won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry with Thomas and Beulah, and it's pretty easy to see why. Dove's poetic biography of her ancestors is hyperkinetic, jazz-infused poetry rooted in the Depression, full of life, sass, and vinegar. Nothing is sacred, from motherhood ("She dreams the baby's so small she keeps/misplacing it") to death ("Later he'll say Death stepped right up/to shake his hand, then squeezed/until he sank to his knees."), and some contemporary jabs mixed in ("...Joanna saying/'Mother, we're Afro-Americans now!'/What did she know about Africa?"). Dove has been one of America's shining poetic voices for two decades now, and there's never not a right time to go back and revisit this stunning collection. Perhaps her strongest work. ****
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4.0 out of 5 starsWonderful book
By Derek on April 26, 2004
Format: Paperback
Rita Dove's Thomas and Beulah is a fantastic story of two people's journey through life together. It is broken up into two sections: Mandolin, and Canary in Bloom. The first section is written through the eyes of Thomas and the second is from Beulah's perspective. What is fantastic about the way this book is written and organized is that all the poems are connected in sequence and tell a story. Unlike many of the books of poetry that I have read, I did not have to bounce back and forth from this book to my dictionary. Dove's approach to writing poetry is very straight-forward and from the heart. The book reads as if it was a personal memoir from both Thomas and Beulah.
You can relate to the couple and really are drawn in by the imagery and metaphors that Dove uses. Pay attention to the use of wings, salt, fish, canary, feet, heart, music, yellow, flowers, and tears. All contribute in great deal to the depth of each poem. One of my favorite poems from this book is "Courtship, Diligence." In this poem, Beulah is listening to him play the same old mandolin that he has played for years. As she sits she imagines a life where she doesn't have to listen to the same old mandolin and see his same old yellow scarf. Thomas has no idea of her thoughts and is playing as well as he could to make her happy. This really made me think of past relationships and how one person could be very happy and try their best to please the one they love with what they are given. Yet, sometimes no matter how hard one person tries, the other is just simply unhappy. The use of mandolin in this poem is just one example of Dove's imagery. When she is using mandolin, it is representing some feeling or stage in Thomas' life.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsWhat is Left Out
By A Customer on October 24, 2000
Format: Paperback
What I find particularly appealing in this collection of poetry is what moments, memories, or emotions get left out. Thomas's perspective of an event is often undercut by Beulah's rendition of the same event. Situations that Beulah reflects on painfully have even been omitted entirely in Thomas's section of poems and vice versa. These omissions work to expose the "limitedness" of the individual perspective, how two people can function in a relationship as a unit and alone. Dove writes of longing, shame, hope, and love without reverting to nostalgic reminiscence. Each of the poems sparks with immediacy created by the brillance of Dove's language, at once common and suductive.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe poetic narrative of an African-American family
By Michael J. Mazza HALL OF FAME on December 1, 2001
Format: Paperback
Rita Dove's book "Thomas and Beulah" won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. I recently re-read the book (more than a decade after having first read it!) and I continue to be impressed by its artistry and quiet compassion. In a series of poems, this book tells the story of an African-American family in the 20th century.
The book ends with a chronology that serves as a sort of "skeleton" for the story told in Dove's gentle free verse. Thomas and Beulah are an African-American couple who live in Akron, Ohio. They are ordinary people going through the daily trials and joys of life. From their lives Dove creates a low-key epic made up of intimate moments and flashes of insight. We accompany Thomas and Beulah through the World War II era; we see them raise a family; we see the evolution of African-American cultural identity. This is a rewarding book that, in my opinion, secures Dove's place as an essential 20th century American poet.
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5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent Read
By Melanie on April 24, 2004
Format: Paperback
I really enjoyed this book because of the unconventional way it was written. I really admire Rita Dove's use of a series of short poems to tell a story. After reading Thomas's half of the book, I couldn't wait to read Beulah's half. The different ways that these two experience the same events, is wonderful. Every poem shows so much feeling; it makes the reader feel like part of what is going on. Once it was pointed out to me that certain symbols stay constant through the entire book, I appreciated the way it was written even more. It gives the reader something to grab onto and follow throughout the sets of narrative poems. In the poems, there is not a use of extremely difficult language. Instead, Rita Dove uses very simple language. The use of simpler words helps convey the time the events were taking place and the people whose point of view they are coming from. By this I mean that historically, because of racism, during these time period many African Americans where not even allowed an education. My favorite poem in the book would have to be "The Zeppelin Factory." In the first stanza, I love the use of the term "whale" to describe the air craft. It gives the image of this gigantic, lumbering piece of machinery. To me it also relates the hollow moan of a whale, to the moaning and creaking of the joints of the airship. The feelings of sadness in the first stanza, quickly translates to the second and third stanzas, as the airship floats out of control, and three people lose their lives. In the third stanza, the image of these tiny looking men falling is absolutely horrifying. It made me realize that I can't even imagine witnessing something so terrible.Read more ›
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