Vice: New and Selected Poems

Ai

ISBN 10: 0393047059 ISBN 13: 9780393047059

Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc, 1999

Synopsis

A collection of poems from Ai's first four books also contains seventeen new poems that continue her gift for dramatic monologues that capture, in a searing and unforgettable fashion, the experiences of ethnic minorities and the urban poor.

About this title

Review:

You know the age-old question: Suppose you could handpick a cast of living or dead characters and have them all to dinner. Who would you ask? In this searing collection, Ai does the difficult work of choosing for us. She invites a whole host of often less-than-presentable guests, including presidents ("I have a deep affection for my wife, / but also for sweet, big-haired girls... who never complain of tired jaws"), paparazzi ("I am there for you, / a friend, not an enemy, / stalkerazzi, or a tabloid Nazi"), and prurient priests ("Lord, I crave things"). Elsewhere, Ai gives voice to Lenny Bruce, a grief-stricken Marilyn Monroe, and the spurned lover who confesses "A man could never do / as much for Imelda / as a pair of shoes." Donning the mask of our most famous (and infamous) politicians and celebrities, as well as our most vilified antiheroes, she gives new life to the dramatic monologue. And in poems "by" rapists, murderers, looters, hit men, and stalkers, she puts words in the mouths of the thoroughly muzzled. Like Whitman, she writes from the conviction that every voice--no matter how despicable or seemingly insignificant--deserves the chance to be heard. --Martha Silano

From the Publisher:

Vice has been named a finalist for the 1999 National Book Award in Poetry.

About this edition

• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0393047059
• ISBN 13: 9780393047059
• Binding: Unknown Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224