Bringing the Shovel Down

by Ross Gay

Bringing the Shovel Down is a re-imagination of the violent mythologies of state and power.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 23, 2011

About the author

Ross Gay is an American poet, essayist, and professor who won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for his 2014 book Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, which was also a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry.

His honors include being a Cave Canem Workshop fellow and a Bread Loaf Writers' Conference Tuition Scholar, and he received a grant from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts.

He is an associate professor of poetry at Indiana University and teaches in Drew University’s low-residency MFA program in poetry. He also serves on the board of the Bloomington Community Orchard.

Reviews

[Jonterri · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels like I read this book very quickly even though I read most of the poems at least 3 times. Not because that's my way of doing things (it's not), but because when I reached the end of many of the poems I would scream out "WHAT!" as in "what did I just read?!" and go back to feel it all again. And there isn't just one type of poem in here that does that, this poet makes that happen in so many ways....from the syndrome poems that made me think or laugh; the "love" poems that made me swoon, laugh or shake my head in agreement; and then there are the many poems that place children in the center of dark scenes that illuminate some aspect of humanity. I feel like I'm being so vague. I am because these poems have surprises I don't want to give away. These are poems that I found myself, at times, wishing weren't so true. And I loved that the title poem appears twice--once with an alternate ending. I wouldn't have minded it being another 10 poems longer though. Now I'm eager for his next offering.

[Carey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sealey Challenge 2024: 19/31

This is really a case of it's not you, it's me. I found this collection to be sort of horror-adjacent, which is a genre that can already be hard for me to get into. However, I was also really unprepared for the language in this collection; it was really linguistically challenging to read through. I frequently had to re-read several poems and still don't feel like I understood them. These poems kind of play with the readers mind and different poetry aesthetics in a way that didn't quite work for me. Also, considering the dark subject matter I expected the poems to be more emotionally impactful than they ended up being. Overall, there were only a couple of poems I enjoyed in this collection, which were the few that had a more positive less horror-themed tone. I can't lie that I'm a bit disappointed with this one, but I know this poet's poetry has evolved a lot in the over a decade since this was published so I will have to give Ross Gay's work another chance!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I carried this book around for the month of February -- I took it to work, to the kitchen while I waited for the oatmeal to cook, on trains, to Chicago, to the YMCA while I spun. I basically needed to have it with me at all times. It is eerie and lovely, frightening and gorgeous.

[Superstition Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ross Gay’s poetry collection, Bringing the Shovel Down, is splendidly powerful. He juxtaposes beautiful experiences alongside terrifying ones. He intertwines love and hate. He creates characters in a few lines who would otherwise require a whole novel. He transports us into the minds of characters so different from ourselves— “I leaned the boy’s head full force into the rattly pane of glass on the school bus and did so with the eagle of justice screaming in my ear as he always does for the irate and stupid I made the window sing and bend and the skinny boy too whose eyes grew to lakes lit by mortar fire.” But he also presents us with vivid relatable versions of ourselves, “Today my heart is so goddamned fat with grief that I've begun hauling it in a wheelbarrow.” Although his poems have recurring words and themes such as blades, bones, blood, syndromes, and death, they also have recurring words like songs, children, angels, dogs, and beauty. On the surface, his poems center on hatred, violence, madness, and the like. However, once the poems sink in, we see the passion, love, and hope that unite them.
By Claudia Estrada

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

two words to describe the content of this collection is overgrowth and violence. his poems have an insane tempo, like you’ve caught him engaging in some desperate plea to god, some poems sound like he’s howling, clapping his hands, crying out…this author sees the themes in life on the highest saturation, and he’s able to display this to the reader. if i were asked what i remember about this collection 10 years from now, i think i would say i see flashes of green and then flashes of red

the words…they don’t even need to have meaning. the way his words sit next to each other, it’s music! it could have NO meaning and i would listen

“rising up a river guzzling a monsoon”

“fire does not a bloody land make bloom”

“But a grammar complex as the skeletal netting beneath our feet? Like blood thrust and birdcall and the trillion hackles of human song? No. We prefer the mouthful of rope”

[Luke Hillier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was ten poems into this collection and decidedly not digging it (pun not intended, but maintained after realization hah). It felt like Gay front-loaded pieces that played more with repetition and in general they felt more opaque, like the first instance of the Syndrome descriptions, where I had a hard time following. However, after that first quarter, there was, at least in my estimation, a massive pivot and I was absolutely blown away by what followed. By the end, I couldn't give anything but five stars, despite my initial ambivalence.

For me, "Overheard" is the thesis statement and crown jewel of the collection. It relays an experience Gay had overhearing a man declare that "it's a beautiful day," and how that invited him into his own attentive praise in a way that didn't preclude the woes and injustices but made room for some beauty alongside them. "Sorrow Is Not My Name" is another that expresses this sentiment pretty explicitly, but the collection is laced with moments like this throughout: a little girl's kind exchange with a woman who is homeless in "From My Car on Broad Street," a woman's astounding operatic voice as she sings while painting her front porch in "Opera Singer." They all function to highlight the majestic, wonderful, and jubilant to be found not just in the midst of the mundane, but in the muck.

Having listened to Gay's terrific "On Being" interview, I know that's a core notion of his personal philosophy, and I think it really shines through here –– even more so than in Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, which didn't go as grim as this collection, serving the purpose of making the light that much brighter. The various "Syndrome" pieces also achieved this in the inverse, too; written in a way that feels somewhat whimsical in the vein of magical realism while generally articulating metaphors for sad experiences, like those who are burdened with tending to an imaginary cemetery or those with the sensation of carrying a heavy weight around their neck. This effect is also powerfully at play in "Prayer for My Unborn Niece or Nephew," which is simultaneously a heartwarming sentiment of hope for a child's life and a devastating reminder of the constant threat of violence and war children elsewhere in the world live with, and die from.

I keep citing poems because I loved so many of them! Just two more: "Learning to Speak" is a poignant celebration of the cycle-breakers who live and love among us, and "Poem to My Child If Ever You Shall Be" is a sweet, sweet concept told with some of the most stunning language of the collection. Just a phenomenal collection!!

[Christina Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poetry collection by Ross Gay is dark and musical. Some reoccurring themes are love, a child, a tragic father, women, bombs, glass, teeth, breakups, nature, violence, birds and other animals. I had fun reading many of the poems aloud, especially "Say It" because Ross creates great incantatory rhythm through repetition. In fact, I was naturally drawn to raise my arms up, palms up, while speaking the words. I read this collection in a day, pretty much straight through, every poem aloud, and enjoyed it very much. It's not the kind of poetry collection I'd usually be drawn to, and I appreciated the foreign images and perspective.

I acquired this book in 2011 after a Cave Canem event at The New School: Poets on Craft with Tina Chang and Ross Gay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w6Fl.... Ross was super kind. He inscribed my book with, "Christina -- Your forward journey is begun! Good good luck with that. Be like a duck! Ross Gay" Good good--there's that repetition again.

This is the first pick in my year of reading through all the collections of poetry in my library. In this respect, my forward journey has indeed begun.

[Faith Gordy · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! Very powerful pictures in Ross' words. If you enjoy poetry, you will LOVE this! Reading it was one thing. Having the wonderful experience of actually sitting in front of this poetic man while he recited multiple poems from this book was unforgettable. Everyone who loves poetry should have this in their collection.

[Hannah Notess · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poem from which the title is taken SLAYS ME.

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best thing I read this summer.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cerebral collection from Ross Gay that is linguistically difficult to enter into and, at times, emotionally difficulty to engage with (dark depths explored). I wouldn't recommend you start here, but if you're a fan of Ross it's worth reading. The titular poem, it's concluding refrain 'Again', and 'Opera Singer'
were my favorites.

[Madison Sides · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goddamn Ross Gay always gets it. This book is just as phenomenal as Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. I think I could quote lines from every poem.

And THANK YOU to Ross Gay for being a poet of gratitude, of celebration, of joy.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5* I've read plenty of later/newer Gay so this just felt "good" since I've gotten to see where this got him to. I did really appreciate the trajectory of the overall tone in this book, though. That felt like it's strongest point.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I'm ever feeling down in the dumps by uninspiring poetry I can read Ross Gay and remember again why I love the art form.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

He's simply brilliant, and his work is exquisite.

[victoria marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here’s what I think I’m trying to say:

Somewhere there’s a road.
Some of us are going to find it.
You can come if you want.

[from “Love, Here’s the Deal”]

*

this might be my favorite poetry book by Ross Gay (of course I love “An Unabashed Catalog of Gratitude” especially that poem & others in audio collaboration with Bon Iver), as so many gems & the real opening of his talent that just grows & grows…

*

a couple other faves from this collection, but I maybe heart the “Syndromes” poems spaced throughout more at times!!

“Within Two Weeks the African American Poet Ross Gay is Mistaken for Both the African American Poet Terrance Hayes and the African American Poet Kyle Dargan, Not One of Whom Looks Anything Like the Others”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...

*

Some Instructions on Black Masculinity Offered to My Black Friend by the White Woman He Briefly Dated, A Monologue
https://www.fishousepoems.org/some-in...

*

& so many others, but will leave this poem (not in this collection) here for a bit…

Small Needful Fact
https://poets.org/poem/small-needful-...

[Ja'net · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I asked for this book for Christmas, I was sure I wouldn't like it as much as Gay's CATALOG OF UNABASHED GRATITUDE (because how could I ever like another book of poetry as much as I like that one?), but I was pleasantly surprised to find that this earlier book is just as mind-blowing...but in a different way. While CATALOG aims to show the reader the light, beauty, and joy in all things (even loss and grief), BRINGING THE SHOVEL DOWN focuses on the dark, the violent, the lies, and delusions we fall victim to and thus, the cycle of darkness, violence, lies, and delusions we perpetuate individually and as a society. At times this felt like the GET OUT of poetry. Brilliant.

I will admit that early on in the book the violence and darkness were almost too much for me to bear. The title poem specifically felt like a horror movie replaying in my head, but that was the very reason I came back to the book--to see if Gay would reveal a way out of the darkness, a glimpse of light. And I'm happy to report that he does; in fact, the title poem reoccurs in the book but with an alternate ending, one that reveals our potential for awareness and our capacity for love. I'm now reading Gay's first book, AGAINST WHICH, expecting that it will kill me with its truth and beauty just as Gays other two books have.

[Lisa Kentgen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after his wildly popular and beloved 'The Book of Delights'. It helped me to understand the trajectory of his choices and world view. I interviewed Ross for a book I wrote on community building and belonging (The Practice of Belonging, out spring of 2023) and I was intrigued to learn more about his internal process.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished reading this book and immediately started to re-read it. I'm not at all ready for anyone else's poetry. I loved the ways the "Syndromes" created lenses for me to read the subsequent poems. I loved the mix of forms, heart aches and hopes. Just a truly beautiful book. I wish I was teaching it to grad students.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know if I would have gotten from this collection what I did if I hadn’t been reading one of the poems (max) per day. I first ordered this book back in March after hearing “Sorrow Is Not My Name” read in a yoga class — I had such a feeling of hope that it gave me as I was coming out of what had felt like such a tumultuous winter and that final line (“I remember. My color’s green. I’m spring.”) was a mantra I told myself again and again while the world seemed to open up around me.

About a week after I started the book, my grandmother opted for hospice care and I was surprised (devestated?) by the dark themes that wove through the prose. There were several instances where I had to switch for another poetry collection for my daily poem due to how [gut wrenching? terrifying? reminded-what-it-felt-like-to-fear-the-big-world-as-a-small-child-again inducing?] the imagery was.

Finishing it now, I’m realizing the slow and steady momentum towards second chances was a sneak attack on the part of Gay and that, perhaps, the shift from dark tones to light was what I needed during this season in life. We cannot see the light without the dark.

Some stand outs from the collection:
“The syndromes: Doubling”
“Overheard”
“Opera Singer”
“Sorrow Is Not My Name”
“Again”

Format: Paperback

[jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This the earliest of Gay I’ve encountered and is interesting to meet him with scathe ¡,, it’s nice to trace how the youth n anger in a person becomes a lot of their later work but beyond that loyalty maybe wasn’t super my vibe. I love poem to my future child though but one time I taught that inside and nobody moved I guess no one wants to talk to jen about how ur masculinity twists post fatherhood
Because longing is an aviary. Because longing is a greenhouse and there are more
greenhouses in the body than all the names of god if you lay down in a damp field and the stars are ravenous and the moon howls and the shimmering labia of a thousand who-cares-their-names lean in quivering on their slick stems to smell you and you, well, I can promise you many things: there is a fire exactly seven states away stopping, at this second, its rage, and tilting its head to hear the thunder of your mostly untouching while three children wearing onesies slip out the back door sooty-faced into the arms of their wailing family. That's one. <\i>

[Owain Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a wide mix of subjects and styles on display in this collection: from the exuberant and celebratory to the dark and brutal, with poems on race, relationships, bible stories, flowers, revenge, domestic violence, really good mix tapes, the poets as yet unconcieved child and short prose sections called The Syndromes, which describe imaginary afflictions and their unusual effects. There's not one poem I didn't get anything from in this collection. Ross Gay is a poet who is not afraid to explore the brutality, cruelty and sufferings of the world but is also equally unafraid to exhalt in their opposites; the joys and pleasures of common experience - an approach perfectly encapsulated in the title poem and its alternative counterpoint Again, which closes the collection. And he uses the word Snuggle in a poem, and who doesn't love a snuggle? Highly recomended

[amanda abel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read a fair amount of Ross Gay’s essays and poetry at this point, I was surprised to find so much darkness in the poems that comprise maybe the first half of this collection. There is much contemplation of both domestic and racial violence, as well as childhood cruelty. The title poem is about one such terrible moment, and I was so grateful for the poem “Again” at the end in which the poet writes an alternate version of the story, changing just a few of the lines and therefore key events, which leaves the reader with more than a twinge of hope. Ross Gay’s conversational style and ease with language always draw me in and make the poems so very readable, which doesn’t mean that he’s not a master. One of my favorite living poets and essayists, no question.

[mickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Today my heart is so goddamned fat with grief that I've begun hauling it in a wheelbarrow. No. It's an anvil"

Holy shit, what a collection of poetry. Each poem devoured me - I will be thinking about them for a long long time. Horrible, haunting, beautiful and true. I had an intense physical reaction to this collection, and it made me want to start writing again. I will need to re-read these poems again, maybe two or three times.

Whenever I read a poetry collection I like to list my favorites, but there are so many in this collection that it seems a little silly to list all of them, but I will do it anyways: "Bull Dragged from Arena", "Isaac", "Praising the Snake", "Say It", "Overheard", "Opera Singer", "Learning to Speak", "Sorrow is Not My Name", and "Again".

[Kate Ringer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a couple of poems that I really liked, but for the most part I felt sleepy while reading this. The poems that helped me stay awake were:

"Love, You Got Me Good" - "Honeybunny, for you, I've got a mouthful / of soot."

"Axe Blade" - "There she is again, studying her face / in the mirror of an axe blade, which reflects, / as well, the hand-shaped welt / wrapping her jaw."

"Love, I'm Done with You" - "You ever wake up with your footie PJs warming / your neck like a noose?"

As I told my students, historically I've written poems about a.) love, b.) heartbreak, and c.) family drama. Makes sense that all the poems I like have to do with those topics!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite poems were:

"Love, You Got Me Good"
"The Lion and the Gazelle"
"Axe Blade"
"From My Car on Broad Street"
"Overheard"
"Opera Singer"
"Sorrow Is Not My Name"

I wasn't nuts about "The Syndromes" series of prose poems, and I thought there were maybe too many poems (like "Ode to the Redbud") that relied on litanies, but I appreciated the joyful energy of the litanies nonetheless. At 61 pages, it was a nice, tight book.

[Gabriel H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming into this book, I expected, from previous experience with Ross Gay's work, the lyricism, the intricate lexical play, and the overwhelming longing for justice. I didn't expect the darkness or the storytelling, which is richer and deeper than I've seen in a poetry collection in quite a while.
Favorite poems: both versions of the title poem, "American Dreaming," "Isaac," "Love, Here's the Deal," and "Ode to the Redbud."

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an early collection by Ross Gay. His more recent collection is called "A ...of unabashed gratitude. The early poems in this book speak the harsher truth of being a black man in the United States. But the poems shift and offer a resistance to that harsh story.

I decided to save this one. I loved it immediately.

Sorrow is Not My Name
-after Gwendolyn Brooks

No matter the pull toward brink. No
matter the florid, deep sleep awaits.
There is a time for everything. Look
just this morning a vulture
nodded his red grizzled head at me, and I looked at him, admiring
the sickle of his beak.
Then the wind kicked up, and,
after arranging that good suit of feather
he up and took off.
Just like that. And to book,
there are, on this planet alone, something like two
million naturally occurring sweet things,
some with names so gorgeous as to kick
the steel from my knees: agave, persimmon,
stick ball, the purple Okra I bought for two bucks
at the market. Think of that. The long night,
the skeleton in the mirror, the man behind me
on the bus taking notes, yeah, yeah.
But look; my niece is running through a field
calling my name. My neighbor sings like an angel
and at the end of my block is a basketball court.
I remember. My color's green. I'm spring.

--for Walter Aikens

[Mariposa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Because I love you, and beneath the uncountable stars
I have become the delicate piston threading itself through your chest,

I want to tell you a story I shouldn’t but will and in the meantime neglect, Love,
the discordant melody spilling from my ears but attend,

instead, to this tale, for a river burns inside my mouth
and it wants both purgation and to eternally sip your thousand drippings;"

From "Again"

[Isabelle Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this poetry book especially the call back of the ending to a previous poem for which the book is named. The rhythm of these poems is unlike the other books I have recently read and makes them exciting and fun. Some of these poems were particularly dark and made me feel uneasy which is, of course, the sign of a well written poem. I’m happy I picked this book up so many years ago because it was a great addition to my poetry collection!