{"product_id":"transfigurations-collected-poems-9780807126301","title":"Transfigurations: Collected Poems","description":"\u003cp\u003eFew poets have as much to tell us about the intricate relationship between the African American past and present as Jay Wright. His poems weave a rich fabric of personal history using diverse materials drawn from African, Native American, and European sources. Scholarly, historical, intuitive, and emotional, his work explores territories in which rituals of psychological and spiritual individuation find a new synthesis in the construction of cultural values. Never an ideologue but always a poet of vision, his imagination shows us a way to rejoice and strengthen ourselves in our common humanity. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Here, together for the first time, are Wright's previously published collections--\u003ci\u003eThe Homecoming Singer\u003c\/i\u003e (1971), \u003ci\u003eSoothsayers and Omens\u003c\/i\u003e (1976), \u003ci\u003eExplications\/Interpretations\u003c\/i\u003e (1984), \u003ci\u003eDimensions of History\u003c\/i\u003e (1976), \u003ci\u003eThe Double Invention of Komo\u003c\/i\u003e (1980), \u003ci\u003eElaine's Book\u003c\/i\u003e (1988), and \u003ci\u003eBoleros\u003c\/i\u003e (1991)--along with the new poems of \u003ci\u003eTransformations\u003c\/i\u003e (1997). By presenting Wright's work as a whole, this collection reveals the powerful consistency of his theme--a spiritual or intellectual quest for personal development--as each book builds solidly upon the previous one. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Wright examines history from a multicultural perspective, attempting to conquer a sense of exclusion--from society and his own cultural identity--and find solace and accord by linking American society to African traditions. He believes that a poem must articulate the vital rhythms of the culture it depicts and is dedicated to a pursuit of poetic forms that embody the cadence of African American culture. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDefying characterization, Wright has experimented with voices, languages, cultures, and forms not normally associated with African American literature. He is well schooled in the cultures of West Africa, Europe, and the Americas, and--true to his New Mexican birth--he is a powerful synthesizer of human experience. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eTransfigurations\u003c\/i\u003e reveals Wright to be a man of profound knowledge and a poet of exalted verbal intensity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e LSU Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/01\/2000\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780807126301\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 640\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.02lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.02h x 5.98w x 1.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/18\/2000 pg. 105\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAtlantic Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2000 pg. 122\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2000 pg. 147\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2000\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/20\/2000\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Jay Wright","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36644058169500,"sku":"9780807126301","price":33.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_15229bbd-ad24-43fe-8944-12a2fd898d91.jpg?v=1603857824","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/transfigurations-collected-poems-9780807126301","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}