Copacetic

by Yusef Komunyakaa

In Copacetic, Komunyakaa returns "to his boyhood and early manhood," observes Kirkland C. Jones in a Dictionary of Literary Biography profile. "These poems examine folk ideas, beliefs, sayings, and songs, and the terminology of blues and jazz."

Genres: Poetry

58 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Yusef Komunyakaa (born April 29, 1947) is an American poet who teaches at New York University and is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Komunyakaa is a recipient of the 1994 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, for Neon Vernacular and the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. He also received the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. Komunyakaa received the 2007 Louisiana Writer Award for his enduring contribution to the poetry world.

His subject matter ranges from the black general experience through rural Southern life before the Civil Rights time period and his experience as a soldier during the Vietnam War.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Tangled in the bell ropes
of each new day,
scribbling on the bottom line
of someone else’s dream,
loitering
in public courtyards
telling statues where to fall.” - from “Soliloquy: Man Talking to a Mirror”

Yusef Komunyakaa is a poet who I knew by reputation before I ever read him. I finally read his work when I read him as part of the anthology Angles of Ascent: A Norton Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry and was impressed by what I read. Trying to find something to read by him was difficult, but I chose this book as it was just long-enough to serve as an introduction to him and was early-enough in his career before his more notable works on music and war (he was a Vietnam War veteran). The book was written as a homage to his Jazz heroes, and reflections on his early life in Louisiana and as a soldier abroad (though he never makes a direct reference to his time at war here).

I liked this volume generally. I didn’t have any poems I hate, but there where at least half the poems I really liked. I think the second part of the book is stronger than the first, but I think this is a good volume of early-1980s poetry. Eventually I will likely read more by him one day.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read Komunyakaa's selected poems, Neon Vernacular, to paraphrase Dickenson, it really took the top of my head off. I thought he would likely end up among my favorite poets, and as I work my way through his collected collection by collection, I haven't seen anything that would change my mind. Masterful stuff. Will be returning g to this after I finish the rest, and maybe sooner. Certainly will dip in often.

[Keeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Komunyakaa's poems in this collection range from the upbeat to the gut-wrenching. There's a wide enough array of cultural references that endnotes might be in order -- while I recognized the jazz-related stuff, some other poems left me wondering. One of the better American poets I've tried recently.