{"product_id":"a-small-story-about-the-sky-9781556594793","title":"A Small Story about the Sky","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Rios evokes the mysterious and unexpected forces that dwell inside the familiar.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"R os delivers another stunning book of poems, rich in impeccable metaphors, that revel in the ordinariness of morning coffee and the crackle of thunderous desert storms. In one sonnet, R os addresses injustice in the borderlands, capturing with mathematical precision the everyday struggles that many migrants face--'The border is an equation in search of an equals sign.' A series of sonnets about desert flora abounds with fantastic, magical imagery--'Bougainvilleas do not bloom--they bleed' and 'Apricots are eggs laid in trees by invisible golden hens.' Likewise, R os's bestiary sonnets overflow with inimitable similes, worthy of a book unto themselves--'Minnows are where a river's leg has fallen asleep' and 'Gnats are sneezes still flying around.' This robust volume is the perfect place to start for readers new to R os and a prize for seasoned fans.\"--\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his thirteenth book, Alberto Rios casts an intense desert light on the rich stories unfolding along the Mexico-US border. Peppered with Spanish and touches of magical realism, ordinary life and its simple props--morning showers, spilled birdseed, winter lemons--becomes an exploration of mortality and humanity, and the many possibilities of how lives might yet be lived.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMad Honey\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMade from magnificent rhododendron, poisonous rhododendron, \u003cbr\u003eVery difficult-to-pronounce rhododendron--whatever\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eRhododendron even is--I would have to look it up myself, \u003cbr\u003eThis word sounding puffed up, peacocky with its\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndianapolisly-long spelling, all those letters moving in and out.\u003cbr\u003eBut the plant itself, the plant and the bees that find it: \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe bees see in its purple flower, first, a purple flower.\u003cbr\u003eThey do not spell it. They do not live in fear of quizzes, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePurple offering what it has to offer, unapologetic, without further\u003cbr\u003eDefinition, purple irresistible to the artist's and to the bee's eye--\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWho can blame either one this first-grade impulse toward love?\u003cbr\u003ePurple, always wearing something low-cut . . . \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlberto Rios\u003c\/b\u003e is the Poet Laureate of Arizona and host of the PBS program \u003ci\u003eBooks \u0026amp; Co\u003c\/i\u003e. He was a finalist for the National Book Award for his poetry volume \u003ci\u003eThe Smallest Muscle in the Human Body\u003c\/i\u003e. He teaches at Arizona State University and lives in Chandler, Arizona.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Copper Canyon Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/04\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781556594793\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 110\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2015 pg. 72\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Alberto R\u0026#237;os","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36659690668188,"sku":"9781556594793","price":14.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_7126e7eb-f403-4ec8-b82f-b359fec8c843.jpg?v=1603895282","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/a-small-story-about-the-sky-9781556594793","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}