Thieves of Paradise

by Yusef Komunyakaa

Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa delivers a powerful meditation on American, and particularly African American, life in the wake of Vietnam.

Centering on the disorienting experiences of the returning soldier and drawing on multiple traditions, Yusef Komunyakaa's poetry is potent, live, and, like the strains of jazz running through it, an erudite and soulful music.

Genres: Poetry, Multicultural Literature

136 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1998

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

[Jennifer Collins]

"I love this body, this
solo & ragtime jubilee
behind the left nipple,
because I know I was born
to wear out at least
one hundred angels."

(from "Anodyne" by Komunyakaa, one of my favorites and included in this collection)

Yusef Komunyakaa has long been one of my favorite poets, and revisiting this collection brought me back to all of the reasons why. This isn't my favorite of his only because so many of the poems are entrenched in nuances and moments from history that I'm not all that familiar with, though perhaps I should be, but even in those poems, his language and description bring a power to every page turned. My favorites here are the poems built from blues music and jazz rhythms and blues and jazz history--all of which I am very familiar with--and the words in these poems in particular croon from the page like the best blues music.

For readers coming into this one, I'd just encourage you to keep going if at first you're put off by the historical elements. This collection gets better and better as it unfolds, but it's worth noting that the history is front-loaded as if the reader moves into a journey through time. It's a more than worthwhile journey to take.

[Mike]

Never bad, usually good, sometimes great and more.

Thieves of Paradise is a perfect example of the admirable ambition of the poems and the impact of the whole collection itself being part of the pleasure, rather than something to be contrasted against and compared with the overall pleasure/effect of reading it. Testimony further cements Komunyakaa as a literal and figurative poet of jazz; the way he writes about music in his poems ranks among the most effective and imaginative writing about music I've read anywhere. "Anodyne" is a flawless closer; "Kosmos" and "John Says" are also great. Quatrains for Ishi is an achievement, as are several of the prose poems ("The Reed Boat" comes to mind). A lot of different styles, experiments, and risks are being deployed here, all of which pay off in some way.

I bought this collection twenty years ago and never finished it; ditto with Neon Vernacular which I read most of but didn't finish. Looking forward to visiting, and in a way re-visiting it, it next.

[Melissa Helton]

The poet is obviously skilled. I read this 15 years ago in grad school and don't remember my impressions then. Now, I can appreciate the many references in these poems (to Viet Nam geography, Greek mythology, jazz musicians, etc.) but also, you have to read the poem once for the music, then do some research to understand the references you are unfamiliar with, and then read it again for understanding. Perhaps I am just too tired these days. Those poems I enjoyed reading aloud for their music and I just let go of the desire to fully "get it." The prose-style poems at the end were more appealing to me on this read through.

[Dawn]

Bought this book back in 2006 or so from a Tucson library sale and just picked it up because it’s still there on the shelves. First sections of poems were a bit remote or maybe overly polished for my taste, not a fan of the prose poems, but the last few sections loosened up (a poem about Charlie Parker) and I was with him in the last sequence called The Blue Hour. I went back to the beginning just to see if I was missing something … but I think this winding-up and letting-go was intentional.

[Kristin]

These poems feel like they should be raw, but each comes off as polished in its own way. The movement throughout the book is excellent, and the topics are varied but all deeply rooted within the book. Nothing here feels out of place.

[Adrienne]

I actually truly enjoyed this book of poetry. I had to read several of the poems multiple times so I was sure that I was gleaning what Komunyakaa was trying to say. I still don't think I understood it all, but that's the beauty of poetry. My favorite poem from this book is "Wet Nurse."

[Donald Armfield]

meh...I guess I expected too much from this collection. The "Palimpsest" section was very interesting

My Favorites

*Out There There Be Dragons
*Ode to a Drum
*Confluence
*Ia Drang Valley
*White Lady
*Meditations on a Dingo
*Surgery

[Joan Colby]

Komunyakaa’s poems not only sing with magic, they contain such a trove of knowledge that the reader is stunned by his combination of erudition and surprise.

[Calvin Pennywell]

This guy right here reignited my passion for poetry. His approach is soft, but carries a heavy after thought .

[Monte]

...just a great poet