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Lucy: A Poem
Lucy / your secret book / that you leaned over and wrote just in the dirt— / Not having to have an ending / Not having to last. . . . And so begins Jean Valentine’s provocative new work, Lucy , a poem that pays homage to the three million-year-old skeleton of the earliest known hominid. With a deep sense of gratitude and profound longing, this poem celebrates the creative power of the female by introducing us to one of our oldest human ancestors. In a dreamlike and often fractured syntax that is vintage Valentine, Lucy, the “wildgood mother” of our species, can once again be heard.
- GenresPoetry
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
Jean Valentine
41 books47 followersJean Valentine (born April 27, 1934) is an American poet, and currently the New York State Poet (2008–2010). Her poetry collection, Door in the Mountain: New and Collected Poems, 1965–2003, was awarded the 2004 National Book Award for Poetry.
Her most recent book Break the Glass (Copper Canyon Press, 2010) was a finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Her first book, Dream Barker, won the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition in 1965. She has published poems widely in literary journals and magazines, including The New Yorker, and Harper's Magazine, and The American Poetry Review. Valentine was one of five poets including Charles Wright, Russell Edson, James Tate and Louise Gluck, whose work Lee Upton considered critically in The Muse of Abandonment: Origin, Identity, Mastery in Five American Poets (Bucknell University Press, 1998). She has held residencies from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, Ucross, and the Lannan foundation, among others.
She was born in Chicago, USA, received bachelor of arts and a master of arts degrees at Radcliffe College, and has lived most of her life in New York City. She has taught with the Graduate Writing Program at New York University, at Columbia University, at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan, and at Sarah Lawrence College. She is a faculty member at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She was married to the late American historian James Chace from 1957–1968, and they have two daughters, Sarah and Rebecca.
Her most recent book Break the Glass (Copper Canyon Press, 2010) was a finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Her first book, Dream Barker, won the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition in 1965. She has published poems widely in literary journals and magazines, including The New Yorker, and Harper's Magazine, and The American Poetry Review. Valentine was one of five poets including Charles Wright, Russell Edson, James Tate and Louise Gluck, whose work Lee Upton considered critically in The Muse of Abandonment: Origin, Identity, Mastery in Five American Poets (Bucknell University Press, 1998). She has held residencies from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, Ucross, and the Lannan foundation, among others.
She was born in Chicago, USA, received bachelor of arts and a master of arts degrees at Radcliffe College, and has lived most of her life in New York City. She has taught with the Graduate Writing Program at New York University, at Columbia University, at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan, and at Sarah Lawrence College. She is a faculty member at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She was married to the late American historian James Chace from 1957–1968, and they have two daughters, Sarah and Rebecca.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 5, 2011
A fine chapbook encountered in a little place in Burlington, Vermont. One of those books cafes put out to look at while you sit there, and, you know, just the right length to polish off while waiting for somebody to show up. Gosh. Jean Valentine was a constant favorite of my undergraduate mentor, Taije Silverman,but I'd never really mustered up the energy to read one of her full-length collections. This was nice, though. I don't know. 'Nice.'
May 12, 2009
For some reason I expected more, much more than this book presented...perhaps because the author is such a well-known poet and maybe that's why she could give us these scanty works. I liked them, but I guess I'd set my expectations way higher. Why? I've no idea,
However I'm pleased to say that after I read the book, it inspired me to write a new poem...rather scanty too. Maybe that's the lesson I learned here--you don't have to spell it all out when you write a poem. The reader must engage also.
I'm thrilled to say that I'll be working as Jean Valentine's intern/assistant at the next Palm Beach Poetry Festival held in Delray Beach next January! Poets, please come join us for a fabulous week of poetry immersion!
However I'm pleased to say that after I read the book, it inspired me to write a new poem...rather scanty too. Maybe that's the lesson I learned here--you don't have to spell it all out when you write a poem. The reader must engage also.
I'm thrilled to say that I'll be working as Jean Valentine's intern/assistant at the next Palm Beach Poetry Festival held in Delray Beach next January! Poets, please come join us for a fabulous week of poetry immersion!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews