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Hymn for the Black Terrific: Poems
The poems in this, Kiki Petrosino's second collection, fulfill the promise of her debut effort, Fort Red Border , and further extend the terms of our expectations for this extraordinary young poet. The book is in two sections, the first a focused collection of wildly inventive lyrics that take as launch pad such far flung subjects as allergenesis, the contents and significance of swamps, a revised notion of marriage, and ancestors—both actual and dreamed. The eponymous second section is a cogent series, or long poem, based on a persona named "the eater," who, along with the poems themselves, storms voraciously through tablefuls of Chinese delicacies (each poem in the series takes its titles from an actual Chinese dish), as well as through doubts and confident proclamations from regions of an exploratory self. Hymn for the Black Terrific has Falstaffian panache; it is a book of pure astonishment.
Kiki Petrosino is the author of Fort Red Border (Sarabande, 2009) and the co-editor of Transom , an independent on-line poetry journal. She holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and the Iowa Writer's Workshop. Her poems have appeared in Tin House, FENCE, Jubilat, Gulf Coast , and The New York Times . Petrosino teaches creative writing at the University of Louisville.
Kiki Petrosino is the author of Fort Red Border (Sarabande, 2009) and the co-editor of Transom , an independent on-line poetry journal. She holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and the Iowa Writer's Workshop. Her poems have appeared in Tin House, FENCE, Jubilat, Gulf Coast , and The New York Times . Petrosino teaches creative writing at the University of Louisville.
- GenresPoetry
88 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2013
3 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Kiki Petrosino
21 books80 followersKiki Petrosino is the author of White Blood: a Lyric of Virginia (2020) and three other poetry books, all from Sarabande. She holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop. Her memoir, Bright, is forthcoming from Sarabande in 2022. She directs the Creative Writing Program at the University of Virginia, where she is a Professor of Poetry. Petrosino is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, a Fellowship in Creative Writing from the National Endowment for the Arts, the UNT Rilke Prize, & the Spalding Prize, among other honors.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 17, 2024
GLORIOUS I don't understand almost any of it but KIKI MY DEAR YOUR GRASP OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS JUST SPELLBINDING MWAH MWAH MWAH!!!!
May 9, 2018
Petrosino seems to move this collection from somewhat plain language lyrics to long and breathless prose poetry. The second section's prose poems sequence is Whitman-esque in its expansiveness with Chinese food rooting the motifs together, and the final section seems to heavily influenced by Elisabeth Bishop but the poems are far more manic in their energy. The topics vary wildly: marriage, swamps, postcards, Pythagoras, Ancestors, night. The energy of the collection can feel a little uneven, but it quite engaging.
March 19, 2020
Best book of poetry I read all year. Would read anything by Kiki Petrosino. I love the way she combined words into one, i.e. treedark.
Thank you Hannah for lending.
Thank you Hannah for lending.
November 5, 2014
A gorgeous book with hard-sparked language. Sad to see some of the darkness-as-bad tropes, but the tight brilliance of the poems and their complexity cannot be diminished.
January 5, 2026
The poems inside deal largely with the speaker’s body, which is fitting because all I want to do is talk about the physical body of her book. It’s gorgeous.
A note at the back informs the reader, “Founded in 1994 as an independent, nonprofit, literary press, Sarabande publishes poetry, short fiction, and literary nonfiction—genres increasingly neglected by commercial publishers. We are committed to producing beautiful, lasting editions that honor exceptional writing, and to keeping those books in print.” I believe every word! Everything from the creaminess and texture of the paper to the embossed logo of the publishing house on the endpapers makes you ache with the careful attention paid to every detail. I feel I should specifically be addressing the jaw of the book, because Petrosino seems *obsessed* with the word; alas, books have a “spine” but no jaw.
I most enjoyed the poems in the section, Mulattress.” Each of the 10 poems include the words of a horrific quote from Jefferson, “They secrete less by the kidneys, and more by the glands of the skin, which gives them a strong and disagreeable odor.” Italicized words usually appear at the ends of lines, and the content of each poem is different. The (brilliant!) structure lends a helpful hand to poems which (in other sections) can otherwise be overly obtuse.
My favorite line from the collection comes from “The Terrible Test of Love.” The poet writes, “My will to touch, outsized, that colored if” — which looks much more elegant as it’s written on the page, with the word “if” in italics.
I have, in the past, gone through stretches where I start my day with a poem, first thing, before looking at my phone or letting any external disquiet seep in and it’s a practice I want to revive this year. I may not seek out Petrosino’s work in the future but I’m glad to have read it.
A note at the back informs the reader, “Founded in 1994 as an independent, nonprofit, literary press, Sarabande publishes poetry, short fiction, and literary nonfiction—genres increasingly neglected by commercial publishers. We are committed to producing beautiful, lasting editions that honor exceptional writing, and to keeping those books in print.” I believe every word! Everything from the creaminess and texture of the paper to the embossed logo of the publishing house on the endpapers makes you ache with the careful attention paid to every detail. I feel I should specifically be addressing the jaw of the book, because Petrosino seems *obsessed* with the word; alas, books have a “spine” but no jaw.
I most enjoyed the poems in the section, Mulattress.” Each of the 10 poems include the words of a horrific quote from Jefferson, “They secrete less by the kidneys, and more by the glands of the skin, which gives them a strong and disagreeable odor.” Italicized words usually appear at the ends of lines, and the content of each poem is different. The (brilliant!) structure lends a helpful hand to poems which (in other sections) can otherwise be overly obtuse.
My favorite line from the collection comes from “The Terrible Test of Love.” The poet writes, “My will to touch, outsized, that colored if” — which looks much more elegant as it’s written on the page, with the word “if” in italics.
I have, in the past, gone through stretches where I start my day with a poem, first thing, before looking at my phone or letting any external disquiet seep in and it’s a practice I want to revive this year. I may not seek out Petrosino’s work in the future but I’m glad to have read it.
March 1, 2018
Blown away by this collection.
From "The Terrible Test of Love":
If you were scrimshaw, & this the Arctic loop with miles to climb. If I had feet unslippered & a knife. If, in busted crenellations of my teeth there kept a knife. Such knife there kept. Such colored if, that knife. If kept the colored if of knife, the colored feet, & kept a folio behind a door outsized. My will to touch, outsized, that colored if. My will outsized, to touch the naked seabass of such knife.
From "The Terrible Test of Love":
If you were scrimshaw, & this the Arctic loop with miles to climb. If I had feet unslippered & a knife. If, in busted crenellations of my teeth there kept a knife. Such knife there kept. Such colored if, that knife. If kept the colored if of knife, the colored feet, & kept a folio behind a door outsized. My will to touch, outsized, that colored if. My will outsized, to touch the naked seabass of such knife.
April 26, 2019
This bruise dazzles.
It is rare enough to find poems that use form, sound, meter, and image gracefully. To do so while pushing out the edges is notable. Almost never can the parts come together, all at once, and be enjoyable. Fair warning, some words are uncommon and some references may require digging. Delightful and astonishing.
It is rare enough to find poems that use form, sound, meter, and image gracefully. To do so while pushing out the edges is notable. Almost never can the parts come together, all at once, and be enjoyable. Fair warning, some words are uncommon and some references may require digging. Delightful and astonishing.
February 1, 2019
If I had more time to give it I might rate it higher; it’s more elaborately rococo and demanding than I prefer but it thrums. It’s not representative, but I love the line “Back to the home-place where God lay like a spine in the earth.” Which reminds me I need to read Mary Karr’s new one.
December 21, 2017
Really enjoyed the variety of styles and consistency of voice/purpose in this collection.
September 19, 2018
What a bold, magnificent book. I loved how each section was its own glint of light, yet had a prismatic effect on the other ones. A book to return to. A book to sink deep in.
July 14, 2020
Absolutely incredible. The last two long poems/series especially were amazing— the craft, but also the fire in them! Honestly I hope to reread this book many many times in my life. It’s a stunner.
September 20, 2020
I didn't 'get' most of it but love the use of language, imagery is unique.
March 25, 2016
I'm always in awe of this poet's diction, and more generally the dazzle and brilliance of all aspects of her language. In some sequences here, I felt more outside than in, maybe in part due to their virtuosity, I'm not entirely sure. A book that warrants re-reading. Here's the end of the poem "Cygnus Cygnus" which is just perfect and kick-ass.
". . . . To observe how thickly feathered
the heart, how small & bright the planet of human thought.
When you tell the sky goodbye in your poems
it's awful. Every time. This last lesson moves beyond
my study. But you remain with me as a winter sky
shot through with swans of iron, swans of steel.
Let no harm come to the dark you have made."
". . . . To observe how thickly feathered
the heart, how small & bright the planet of human thought.
When you tell the sky goodbye in your poems
it's awful. Every time. This last lesson moves beyond
my study. But you remain with me as a winter sky
shot through with swans of iron, swans of steel.
Let no harm come to the dark you have made."
October 26, 2014
I've been reading many collections of poetry over the course of this year. Generally I read a few poems each morning. I've gotten out of the habit, but I grabbed this book and finished it.
I really liked a lot of these poems, and some I had a hard time connecting with. I guess it's that way with any collection. I thought many of these were smart, and the language in them is gorgeous. I just didn't "get" all of them, either on an intellectual or emotional level.
I really liked a lot of these poems, and some I had a hard time connecting with. I guess it's that way with any collection. I thought many of these were smart, and the language in them is gorgeous. I just didn't "get" all of them, either on an intellectual or emotional level.
November 14, 2013
I love this book and will have to buy it. Petrosino's voice is mature, intense, curious, original, and striking. The entire book is a slam-dunk, with not a wasted sentence, and the line-breaks are perfection. I love how this woman thinks. Read her. She's amazing.
September 20, 2013
Hmmm for the Rank Terrible
February 5, 2015
some beautiful poems, but not consistently as daring as i prefer.
the best work in here is well above a 3 star rating, though.
the best work in here is well above a 3 star rating, though.
March 19, 2015
Flawless. Fierce. A great read.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews