Hard Country

by Sharon Doubiago

First published by West End Press in 1982, this book-length poem about a journey across America has been out of print for a decade but has maintained its underground reputation as a major response to the male epic consciousness of twentieth-century American poetry.
"In this political geography of the continent's body, the land is corporeal, erotic and ever-present. . . . Doubiago's imagination is always unified and political. . . . Sharon Doubiago is 'a complex of occasions,' a brilliant response to Whitman, an American poet, free, spiritual and gifted."--Carolyn Forché
"A unique search for the meaning of personal and national history, narrated by a woman seeking her own liberation and fulfillment through struggle against the reactionary mores and politics of her time."--Thomas McGrath
"Sharon Doubiago fearlessly enters the labyrinth of our history, our search and danger as woman as human as deep American wanderer. . . . It is a long saga, a woman's history and a history of us all."--Meridel Le Sueur

Genres: Poetry

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great feminist poetry books of...well...ever.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was required reading for a class, entitled Hard Country, at the Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington. Instructors were Aurand and Sparks. Ms. Dubiago did visit the class and did read from this book. It was an Art Class and I was a fourth year film student. The task of the class was to produce Art, wharever the disapline, that wasvinspired by the book and our own personal relationship with America. Just as the author has written of her relationship with the American landscape.
The book is a deeply personal, introspective and imaginative collection of the authors life up until the time of publication.

[Monty Wildhack · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best examples of where regionalism meets feminism. Outstanding.