ARCHIVES: Blessing the Boats (2001-02) |
|
Blessing the Boats,
by Lucille Clifton, is a book of provocative poetry.
Clifton's poetry speaks for itself. She defies the
pejorative Western myth that women of color are incompetent,
impotent, and inadequate. Her wording is simple and
straightforward; her poems often lack capitalization
and punctuation. This helps engulf readers of all levels
because commas won't slow a reader down and sporadic
periods indicate when a thought stops. Her poems are
short and easy to remember, often tackling controversial
subjects.
|
Mrs.
Clifton's poetry is about racism,
illness, death, gender, and ultimately
human experiences.
|
|
Lucille
Clifton is a prolific and acclaimed
poet twice nominated for the
Pulitzer Prize. Self-taught,
she uses plain language to explore
life’s complexities and
to affirm the spirit’s endurance.
She is the author of eleven collections
of poetry, most recently Blessing
the Boats: New and Selected Poems,
1988-2000, as well as nineteen
popular books for children. A
native of Buffalo, New York,
she has served on faculties of
universities across the country
and is currently Distinguished
Professor of Humanities at St.
Mary’s College of Maryland.
|
Mrs. Lucille Crifton
|
| For
many years, she was the Poet Laureate
of Maryland. Her many honors, fellowships,
and awards include an Emmy Award
from the American Academy of Television
Arts and Sciences, a National Book
Award Finalist medal, and the prestigious
Shelley Memorial Award. In 1999,
Lucille Clifton was named Chancellor
of the Academy of American Poets.
She lives in Columbia, Maryland. |
For
more on Mrs. Lucille Crifton:
* American
Modern Poets webpage on Lucille Crifton
* Video:
Mrs. Lucille Crifton reads "Won't
you celebrate with me"
[
Last updated on
November 7, 2007
]
|
