Die Deeper into Life

Penguin Modern Poets #6

by Claudia Rankine, Denise Riley, Maggie Nelson

The Penguin Modern Poets are succinct, collectible, lovingly-assembled guides to the richness and diversity of contemporary poetry, from the UK, America and beyond. Every volume brings together representative selections from the work of three poets now writing, allowing the seasoned poetry lover and the curious reader alike to encounter our most exciting new voices. Volume 6, Die Deeper into Life , features the work of Maggie Nelson and Claudia Rankine, the two American poets who, in hybrid books bridging the divide between poetry, lyric prose, life-writing and theory such as Bluets , The Argonauts , Don't Let Me Be Lonely and Citizen , have transformed the literary landscape over the last 15 years, alongside that of Denise Riley, who for decades has been exploring closely related concerns - motherhood; identity and oppression; loss; the language and words that build, or assault, our selves - as one of the best-kept secrets of British poetry, now fittingly recognized by a string of shortlistings and awards. These are writers who combine deep thought with deep feeling to illuminate our world, how we suffer in it, how we resist it, and how we can live with and love it.

Genres: Poetry

132 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2017

About the author

Claudia Rankine is an American poet and playwright born in 1963 and raised in Kingston, Jamaica and New York City.

Rankine is the author of five collections of poetry, including "Citizen: An American Lyric" and "Don’t Let Me Be Lonely"; two plays including "The White Card," which premiered in February 2018 (ArtsEmerson and American Repertory Theater) and will be published with Graywolf Press in 2019, and "Provenance of Beauty: A South Bronx Travelogue"; as well as numerous video collaborations. She is also the editor of several anthologies including "The Racial Imaginary: Writers on Race in the Life of the Mind." In 2016, she cofounded The Racial Imaginary Institute. Among her numerous awards and honors, Rankine is the recipient of the Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry and the Poets & Writers’ Jackson Poetry Prize as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, United States Artists and the National Endowment of the Arts. She is a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and teaches at Yale University as the Frederick Iseman Professor of Poetry. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut.
(source: Arizona State University)

Reviews

[Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

All 3 of these poets moulded beautifully into each other. The themes of melancholy and acceptance and change all so vivid, concise, insightful. I absolutely loved this collection and had to painstakingly savour it for as long as possible.

[rayon · Rating 5 out of 5]

my first intro to claudia + maggie, completely enchanted. i now know where A’s poetry insta handle comes from i think! will definitely be reading more of claudia and will try to give denise a second chance

[mcleodchick · Rating 3 out of 5]

very average. learned i don't like denise riley but love claudia rankine. go figure.

[Juliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penguin Modern Poets Six: 'Die Deeper Into Life' really DELIVERS with three of the best contemporary poets. Claudia Rankine's work I was already familiar with, and love for its interrogation of race relations and isolation in America. Denise Riley's work was new to me and genuinely floored me: the final stanzas of 'A Part Song' made me let out an audible "oh!" on the train. Lung-squeezing, lightly-handled heartbreak. As for Maggie Nelson, I was familiar with her phenomenal prose, and her poetry did not disappoint, moving and lithe and clever. Easily the best PMP anthology yet (and in a beautiful colour too)!

[Garconniere · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this because I loved the beautiful edition, and knew I would enjoy the Maggie Nelson and Claudia Rankine poems, but wow, what a great introduction to Denise Riley.

Favourites: Stop and Frisk by Claudia Rankine
Dark Looks by Denise Riley
The Poem I was Working On Before September 11, 2001 by Maggie Nelson

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that I was much more drawn to the prose poetry (even if Maggie Nelson is a bit ashamed of it), and therefore more drawn to Rakine and Nelson. But I can't complain about Riley either, especially with the poems discussing death.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't my favourite Penguin Modern Poets yet, but it did remind me that I do really, really need to read Citizen by Claudia Rankine, which was excerpted here and which was one of the few poems in the collection I actually really loved.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first meeting for all three of these poets. Liked aspects of all 3, but for me it was Claudia Rankine who stood out most. I will definitely be looking deeper into her work and Maggie Nelson's.

[Kariss Ainsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag, prefered the first poet

[k · Rating 5 out of 5]

the mothers of prose poetry.

[Cooch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to review this

Maggie Nelson's poems here are excellent. Claudia Rankine 's are good or very good. Denise Riley's I couldn't get at all.