{"product_id":"hum-9781938584022","title":"Hum","description":"\u003cb\u003e2014 Notable Book Award from the American Library Association\u003cbr\u003e 2013 Silver IndieFab Award Winner\u003cbr\u003e 2013 NAACP Image Award Nominee\u003cbr\u003e 2013 ForeWord Book of the Year Award Finalist\u003cbr\u003e 2013 The Boston Globe's Best Books of 2013 List\u003cbr\u003e 2012 Beatrice Hawley Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Linguistically acrobatic  and] beautifully crafted. . .  Jamaal May's] poems, exquisitely balanced by a sharp intelligence mixed with earnestness, makes his debut a marvel.\" --Publishers Weekly \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The elegant and laconic intelligence in these poems, their skepticism and bent humor and deliberately anti-Romantic stance toward experience are completely refreshing. After so much contemporary writing that seems all flash, no mind and no heart, these poems show how close observation of the world and a gift for plain-spoken, but eloquent speech, can give to poetry both dignity and largeness of purpose, and do it in an idiom that is pitch perfect to emotional nuance and fine intellectual distinctions. Hard-headed and tough-minded, Hum is the epitome of what Frost meant by 'a fresh look and a fresh listen.'\" --Tom Sleigh \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Jamaal May's debut collection, Hum, is concerned with what's beneath the surfaces of things--the unseen that eats away at us or does the work of sustaining us. Reading these poems, I was reminded of Ellison's 'lower frequencies, ' a voice speaking for us all. May has a fine ear, acutely attuned to the sonic textures of everyday experience. And Hum--a meditation on the machinery of living, an extended ode to sound and silence--is a compelling debut.\" --Natasha Trethewey \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In his percussive debut collection Hum, Jamaal May offers a salve for our phobias and restores the sublime to the urban landscape. Whether you need a friend to confide in, a healer to go to, or a tour guide to take you there, look no further. That low hum you hear are these poems, emanating both wisdom and swagger.\" --A. Van Jordan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom \"Mechanophobia: Fear of Machines\": \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere is no work left for the husks.\u003cbr\u003eAutomated welders like us, \u003cbr\u003eyour line replacements, can't expect\u003cbr\u003esympathy after our bright\u003cbr\u003earms of cable rust over. So come\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ecollect us for scrap, grind us up\u003cbr\u003ein the mouth of one of us.\u003cbr\u003eLet your hand pry at the access\u003cbr\u003epanel with the edge of a knife, \u003cbr\u003esilencing the motor and thrum.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Alice James Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/19\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781938584022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 80\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e ALA Notable Books - Winner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e IndieFab awards - Silver Medal Winner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/23\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2013 pg. 105\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2013 pg. 9\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jamaal May","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36671343952028,"sku":"9781938584022","price":13.56,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_f843a001-7120-4901-abf7-32533e4d9d1b.jpg?v=1603925145","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/hum-9781938584022","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}