{"product_id":"america-a-love-story-9780819502261","title":"America, a Love Story","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew poems on love, family, and art from the author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmerica, A Love Story\u003c\/i\u003e is Camille T. Dungy's powerful testament to living and loving as a Black woman and mother in today's America, and her first book of poetry in almost a decade. Piercingly honest and deeply compassionate, this poetry moves through the mounting griefs of contemporary American life with unwavering clarity. The book is part indictment, part celebration--full of gratitude, fear, resistance, and hope. Dungy explores intimacy, parenting, racism, history, and the natural world with clarity and depth. Some poems reflect on the past; others respond to the work of contemporary Black artists. Many are formally playful, including a series of 700-character poems inspired by the 700 hours of sleep a mother loses in her child's first year. Gorgeous, bright, and bold, these poems speak from the edges--between mother and child, body and earth, self and country. They hold tension and tenderness in equal measure, creating a space for love amidst uncertainty.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[sample poem]\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTo enter our own empty house\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eShe was seven when we stopped\u003cbr\u003eusing keys. One less thing to lose.\u003cbr\u003eNow we punch a combination.\u003cbr\u003eEasy, but hopefully not so easy\u003cbr\u003ea stranger could guess. This is where\u003cbr\u003eI should stop. They are bound\u003cbr\u003eto be angry, my beloveds. I am\u003cbr\u003egiving away all our secrets again.\u003cbr\u003eVulnerability is the root of much fury.\u003cbr\u003e =\u003cbr\u003eI was small. A stone in the yard\u003cbr\u003ehid a metal case with a lid\u003cbr\u003ethat slid like a matchbox top\u003cbr\u003eto reveal our key. Lifting that rock\u003cbr\u003eI thought of bashing someone's head. \u003cbr\u003eI thought of harm lurking, dressed\u003cbr\u003ein the body of some stranger. \u003cbr\u003e =\u003cbr\u003eSometimes, I wrestle my daughter.\u003cbr\u003eI make her tiny body work itself\u003cbr\u003eout from under the weight I make \u003cbr\u003eof my own. In this way I try \u003cbr\u003eto teach her how it feels to break free.\u003ci\u003eAmerica, A Love Story\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Wesleyan University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/03\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780819502261\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 104","brand":"Camille T. Dungy","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52147066863797,"sku":"9780819502261","price":14.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_a6d95cfa-72f7-4c3e-b596-38de8eb19801.jpg?v=1767678701","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/america-a-love-story-9780819502261","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}