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Threshing Floor
“Threshing Floor is a serious book of poems in series. These retellings of the Biblical Naomi are compelling and soulful.” — Denise Duhamel “Threshing Floor tells the story of three women, their vulnerability and displacement; it will grip and hold women. But, please God, may the book also be read by men—lots of men—because these poems are models of empathy in a world that sorely needs it.” — Jeanne Murray Walker, author of Helping the New and Selected Poems
Paperback
Published January 1, 2016
8 people want to read
About the author
Renee Emerson
10 books31 followersRenee Emerson is the author of Keeping Me Still(Winter Goose Publishing 2014), Threshing Floor (Jacar Press 2016), and Church Ladies (Fernwood Press 2023).
She earned her MFA in poetry from Boston University, where she was also awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize in 2009. She was recently awarded an Individual Artist grant from the Arkansas Arts Council.
She is also the author of three chapbooks of poetry: Where Nothing Can Grow (Batcat Press, 2012), The Whitest Sheets (Maverick Duck Press, 2011), and Something Like Flight (Sargent Press, 2010).
Her poetry has been published in 32 Poems, Christianity and Literature, Indiana Review, Literary Mama, Southern Humanities Review, storySouth, and elsewhere. Renee teaches for the Poetry Barn online writing workshops.
She earned her MFA in poetry from Boston University, where she was also awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize in 2009. She was recently awarded an Individual Artist grant from the Arkansas Arts Council.
She is also the author of three chapbooks of poetry: Where Nothing Can Grow (Batcat Press, 2012), The Whitest Sheets (Maverick Duck Press, 2011), and Something Like Flight (Sargent Press, 2010).
Her poetry has been published in 32 Poems, Christianity and Literature, Indiana Review, Literary Mama, Southern Humanities Review, storySouth, and elsewhere. Renee teaches for the Poetry Barn online writing workshops.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 17, 2016
"Threshing Floor" is enigmatic. It is a mystical, mythological and yet real journey. This is a stunning collection of poems from start to finish. The poems stand on their own in their poignancy, but together Emerson weaves a tapestry of a powerful narrative. Just as in the poem “Ruth, Pregnant,” the collection has a heavy weight.
Even good things have weight—a harvest, a child turning
his slow discoveries in the womb.
The narratives of the women in the poems is philosophical. This is a collection for the heart and soul of women and for men who should read it to understand them better. There are many timeless moments and universal truths in the poetry.
In “Night Feeding,” Emerson writes
I pray over him what anyone prays over a child— hopes he will escape the same sorrows I have, and the ones I have not.
Another appealing detail in the book was the turn of phrases as Grandmother-spider and Grandmother-ghost in the poem “Naomi’s Grandmother.”
As the title poem, Emerson has compelling titles for her poem, a favorite being “I Take the Scissors to the Double-Stroller.”
Emerson’s voice is controlled, prudent, philosophical, omniscient, and intriguing. You can easily finish the book in one setting. I kept returning to the poems to find myself in the voices of Naomi and Ruth.
Even good things have weight—a harvest, a child turning
his slow discoveries in the womb.
The narratives of the women in the poems is philosophical. This is a collection for the heart and soul of women and for men who should read it to understand them better. There are many timeless moments and universal truths in the poetry.
In “Night Feeding,” Emerson writes
I pray over him what anyone prays over a child— hopes he will escape the same sorrows I have, and the ones I have not.
Another appealing detail in the book was the turn of phrases as Grandmother-spider and Grandmother-ghost in the poem “Naomi’s Grandmother.”
As the title poem, Emerson has compelling titles for her poem, a favorite being “I Take the Scissors to the Double-Stroller.”
Emerson’s voice is controlled, prudent, philosophical, omniscient, and intriguing. You can easily finish the book in one setting. I kept returning to the poems to find myself in the voices of Naomi and Ruth.
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September 24, 2016obviously, i read this one.
if you read it to, i'd appreciate the reviews! they help sell books!
if you read it to, i'd appreciate the reviews! they help sell books!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews