{"product_id":"one-big-self-9781556592584","title":"One Big Self","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"For a long while now, C. D. Wright has been writing some of the greatest poetry-cum-prose you can find in American literature. \u003ci\u003eOne Big Self\u003c\/i\u003e does to the contemporary prison-industrial complex what James Agee did to poverty -- it reacts passionately and lyrically (and idiosyncratically) to a sociopolitical abomination. This book, while angry and sorrowful and bewildered, has humor, constant levity and candor, and countless moments of incredible beauty.\" --Dave Eggers, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Wright has found a way to wed fragments of an iconic America to a luminously strange idiom, eerie as a tin whistle, which she uses to evoke the haunted quality of our carnal existence.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInspired by numerous visits inside Louisiana state prisons--where MacArthur Fellow C.D. Wright served as a \"factotum\" for a portrait photographer--\u003ci\u003eOne Big Self\u003c\/i\u003e bears witness to incarcerated men and women and speaks to the psychic toll of protracted time passed in constricted space. It is a riveting mosaic of distinct voices, epistolary pieces, elements from a moralistic board game, road signage, prison data, inmate correspondence, and \"counts\" of things--from baby's teeth to chigger bites: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eCount your folding money\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eCount the times you said you wouldn't go back\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eCount your debts\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eCount the roaches when the light comes on\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eCount your kids after the housefire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eOne Big Self\u003c\/i\u003e--originally published as a large-format limited edition that featured photographs and text--was selected by \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Village Voice\u003c\/i\u003e as a notable book of the year. This edition features the poem exclusively.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eC.D. Wright\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of ten books of poetry, including several collaborations with photographer Deborah Luster. She is a professor at Brown University.\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 04\/01\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781556592584\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 96\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.48lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.45h x 7.12w x 0.33d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Quill Awards - Nominee\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/26\/2007 pg. 60\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2007 pg. 83\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"C. D. Wright","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36659689062556,"sku":"9781556592584","price":12.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_64d6a41b-c252-42d1-ac4e-70d29483b1ba.jpg?v=1603895278","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/one-big-self-9781556592584","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}