Loose Woman: Poems (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The three parts of this spirited collection address the heart, "spangled again and lopsided." In her second book of poems, Cisneros ( My Wicked Wicked Ways ) presents a street-smart, fearlessly liberated persona who raves, sometimes haphazardly, always with abandon, about the real thing: "I am . . . / The lust goddess without guilt. / The delicious debauchery. You bring out / the primordial exquisiteness in me." As if breaking all the rules ("Because someone once / said Don't / do that! / you like to do it"), she delves with urgency into things carnal--sequins, cigars, black lace bras and menstrual blood. Readers of Cisneros's coming-of-age novel The House on Mango Street (which Knopf is reissuing in hardcover) will recognize the almost mythic undertow of her voice; it never weakens. We meet again a powerful, fiercely independent woman of Mexican heritage, though this time innocence has long been lost. For her the worlds of language and life are one and the same: "Lorenzo, I forget what's real. / I mix up the details of what happened / with what I witnessed inside my / universe." These poems--short-lined, chantlike, biting--insistently rework the same themes to tap them. In the end, however, despite the accessible boldness of the writing, the poems lack the depth, the complexity and the lyrical magic of the author's fiction. QPB alternate; first serial to the New Yorker.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

"You bring out the Mexican in me./The hunkered thick dark spiral./The core of a heart howl./The bitter bile./The tequila lagrimas on Saturday all/through next weekend Sunday." In this typically direct, sensual, and bitingly colloquial poem, Cisneros is addressing a lover, but she might as well be addressing the act of writing itself, which clearly brings out the best in her, along with the passion she associates with her Mexican roots. As in Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (LJ 4/1/91), one of LJ's Best Books of 1991, Cisneros deftly explores the consequences of being Hispanic and a woman-in particular, being the tough, independent free-spirited "loose woman" of her title. The poems that result are brilliant and shimmering and sharp-tongued and just occasionally a little too similar. Highly recommended where good poetry is read and essential for all Hispanic collections.
Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Later printing edition (March 14, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679755276
• ISBN-13: 978-0679755272
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #242,989 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A passionate poetic voice, May 27, 2002

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"Loose Woman" is a collection of poetry by Sandra Cisneros. Throughout the book Cisneros revels in a sort of "bad girl" image: the overall persona is that of a passionate, sexual woman who's had her share of both joy and disappointment. At times she sounds like a Latina soul sister to Charles Bukowski and Allen Ginsberg.

The book is mainly in English, but peppered with Spanish words and phrases; there is one poem entirely in Spanish ("Amorcito Corazon"). Cisneros writes about love, womanhood, Latina identity, and creativity.

Some of my favorite selections from "Loose Woman": "You Bring Out the Mexican in Me," a Whitmanesque celebration of both the speaker's lover and of her own ethnic identity; "Dulzura," with the memorable opening line "Make love to me in Spanish"; "Down There," which celebrates menstruation with vibrantly graphic language; and the title poem, in which the speaker declares "I break laws, / upset the natural order."

The book is throughout spiced with a colorful medley of multicultural references: Dolores del Rio, Nebuchadnezzar, Mohammed, Houdini, the gargoyles of Notre Dame, Sir Walter Raleigh, Marilyn Monroe, etc. Cisneros' language is often raw and sexual, sometimes playfully elegant; I loved her phrase "the origami of the brain" (from "Night Madness Poem"). Definitely a worthwhile collection of poetry from an intriguing Latina voice.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern Poetry at it's best, June 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Loose Woman (Hardcover)

Sandra Cisneros is a good sign that poetry is alive and well. Here we get no "inspirational" poetry, no Hallmarkian reflections on love, no long-winded naturalist devotions. Cisneros' poetry is hard-nosed and insidious, humorous, erotic, emotional, and full of verve.

Her poetry is young and strong, dealing with issues surrounding Cisneros' gender identity as well as her ethnic identity. It's laced with feminism as Cisneros discusses her sexuality, spirituality, and guilt.

I especially liked the "You Bring out the Mexican in Me," "I am So in Love I Grow a New Hymen," and "Heart, My Lovely Hobo."

Great, fantastic, wonderful poetry!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it. Read it. Buy another copy for a friend., May 25, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Phelan, California) - See all my reviews

Ay! Sandra is amazing. Amazing, fantastic, loud, bawdy, passionate, intense, erotic, and hilarious. I know that as a Chicana who has lived in Texas I probably get a couple more references than the average woman but no matter what nationality or age or any other inconsequential thing that a woman is sub-classified as being... I can read them a line or two of Sandra and if they haven't felt it themselves well then their best girlfriend has confided it over a cup of cafe, a shotglass of tequila, or a frozen margarita. Sandra's cadencences and images are Latina in flavor but the emotion is pura mujer. Pure woman. Salud.