{"product_id":"homeplace-poems-paperback","title":"Homeplace: Poems - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMarilyn Nelson\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinalist for the 1991 National Book Award\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Homeplace, \u003c\/i\u003e the stories of a family become the history of a people as Marilyn Nelson Waniek sketches the lives descended from her great-great-grandmother Diverne. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe poet's mother, Johnnie Mitchell Nelson, inspired this volume when she bequeathed to Waniek from her deathbed the tales that had shaped her life. The first section of the book presents those stories transformed into graceful, humorous, and deeply touching poems. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the book's second section Waniek honors her late father, Melvin Nelson, and tells the story of his \"family\" the fabled group of black World War II aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Using the language and perspective of her father and his comrades, Waniek explores through a few of their individual stories the hardships and achievements of the thousand black flyers trained at Tuskegee Institute. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThroughout \u003ci\u003eThe Homeplace, \u003c\/i\u003e the reader is involved in a series of sharply portrayed lives. By telling a continuous story in a mix of free verse and traditional forms, Waniek gives her work pace and intensity. She handles the villanelle, the sonnet, and the popular ballad with equal skill and gusto. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"I just knew we were going to live some history,\" Johnnie Nelson said at the end of her life. Her daughter has produced an eloquent homage to that history, celebrating the survival of Afro-American pride.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarilyn Nelson Waniek is a teller of family tales whose black roots in the South quickly embrace us all. Maybe best, Waniek has the full range of a blues singer's passion, from bitterness to joy, and she shows why in the right hands poetry's cry of the heart is still strong and still fresh.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarilyn Nelson Waniek is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and former Poet Laureate of the State of Connecticut. She is the author of eight books of poetry, including \u003ci\u003eFor the Body, Mama's Promises, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Fields of Praise, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich was a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Poet's Prize.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 64\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.22 x 8.93 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 01, 1990\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAward:\u003c\/strong\u003e National Book Awards (1991)\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42131007275143,"sku":"9780807116418","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/22d1ce357a1bb8dda55a210e634fadc2.webp?v=1732615558","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/homeplace-poems-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}