Thornwork (Paperback)

Ruth Ann Baumann

ISBN 10: 1625578156 / ISBN 13: 9781625578150

Published by Black Lawrence Press, Watertown, 2020

About this Item

Paperback. I know as much as I know,' Baumann writes, 'and still get out of bed.' And what trauma survivor has not marveled at this exact triumph? THORNWORK is a rigorous examination of the abundant hunger of both body and psyche to survive. This generous work confronts our inadequacies: 'We have tried you, language, but you have not been enough,' and nurtures even our most imperceptible efforts: 'I have almost enough courage to keep walking myself home,' offering a realistic portrait of the untidy endeavor to persevere."--Jeanann Verlee "THORNWORK sings to the soft sleeping animal at the center of us all, and shows us that to love wrongly is still to love. It's a eulogy for the former self, a prayer, a ghost story. This is an urgent, spell-binding book." --Meg Freitag "Ruth Baumann's THORNWORK is painted with vertiginous desires, 'I wake up how a thief wakes up, one want at a time.' These poems explore what happens when we harm for or are harmed by that which we desire--'god is not a pitcher plant / It's us humans that eat each other.' Baumann leads us into a world that is both familiar and foggy, both lonely and suffocating, a world where 'Life fidgets everywhere.' It isn't Baumann's job to lead us back out--she is here to tell us what's at stake, she is here to show us the 'new angles.' Come in and have a look around. 'Make a sudden noise. See which animals in us come out.'"--Paige Lewis Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781625578150

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Thornwork (Paperback)
• Publisher: Black Lawrence Press, Watertown
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1625578156
• ISBN 13: 9781625578150
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

I know as much as I know,' Baumann writes, 'and still get out of bed.' And what trauma survivor has not marveled at this exact triumph? THORNWORK is a rigorous examination of the abundant hunger of both body and psyche to survive. This generous work confronts our inadequacies: 'We have tried you, language, but you have not been enough,' and nurtures even our most imperceptible efforts: 'I have almost enough courage to keep walking myself home,' offering a realistic portrait of the untidy endeavor to persevere."--Jeanann Verlee
"THORNWORK sings to the soft sleeping animal at the center of us all, and shows us that to love wrongly is still to love. It's a eulogy for the former self, a prayer, a ghost story. This is an urgent, spell-binding book." --Meg Freitag
"Ruth Baumann's THORNWORK is painted with vertiginous desires, 'I wake up how a thief wakes up, one want at a time.' These poems explore what happens when we harm for or are harmed by that which we desire--'god is not a pitcher plant / It's us humans that eat each other.' Baumann leads us into a world that is both familiar and foggy, both lonely and suffocating, a world where 'Life fidgets everywhere.' It isn't Baumann's job to lead us back out--she is here to tell us what's at stake, she is here to show us the 'new angles.' Come in and have a look around. 'Make a sudden noise. See which animals in us come out.'"--Paige Lewis

About the Author

Ruth Baumann holds an MFA from the University of Memphis and a PhD from Florida State University. She is the author of Parse (2018, Black Lawrence Press) and Thornwork (2020, Black Lawrence Press).