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Debts & Lessons
The stirring and striking poems in Lynn Xu’s debut collection touch on an array of themes, including thinking of love as an argument; Shakespeare; the American landscape transformed into text; the Occupy Movement; and the experiences wrought from travels in Mexico, Shanghai, and New York City. Named after the first part of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, this collection draws inspiration from history as the author looks to the dead for guidance amid the abstractions of contemporary life. Perceptive and filled with insight into what it means to be human, the poems in this collection will resonate with readers long after setting the book down.
- GenresPoetry
96 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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July 28, 2013Language exists because nothing exists between those
who express themselves. All language is therefore
a language of prayer. Held in the dark, without sleep. Faith
is the confession that there exists that
wherein one is faithless. Wherein faith isolates a position of value there exists
two essential hells. The on you are in.
And the on you are after.
-from "Say You Will Die For Me"
who express themselves. All language is therefore
a language of prayer. Held in the dark, without sleep. Faith
is the confession that there exists that
wherein one is faithless. Wherein faith isolates a position of value there exists
two essential hells. The on you are in.
And the on you are after.
-from "Say You Will Die For Me"
September 1, 2013
I really like the "Lullabies" section of this book.
October 22, 2013
A wonderful book! The poems written in other poets' voices are interesting, but I would have liked it better had this book been pure Xu.
January 3, 2014
This is a beautiful collection of haunting and mysterious lyric poems. It was one of my favorite poetry books of 2013.
April 21, 2014
startling, fierce, lovely
February 26, 2019
A difficult book for me, nonlinear and diffuse, but with some beautiful lines I'll remember.
March 3, 2017
This book is a waste of time. It is a self-important compilation of poems written by an author so arrogant that she thinks her haughty words are lofty and important. I'm confused by the other reviews and can only assume they were written by her friends!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews