{"product_id":"reading-water-poems-paperback-2","title":"Reading Water: Poems - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDerek Jg Williams\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFramed by the death of the poet's mother, \u003ci\u003eReading Water\u003c\/i\u003e begins by considering how love is born then bound by the bonds of family and friends. These poems undertake a restless search for a self under constant evolution. Grappling with grief, familial and romantic love, and art - using persona and ekphrasis, along with the traditional lyric - this debut collection addresses Dean Young's crucial question: \"Who doesn't sense an unbridgeable alienation between ourselves and the world...That our poems speak to no one, not even fully to ourselves?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn response to this question, over and over again, \u003ci\u003eReading Water\u003c\/i\u003e fords the distance that exists between sons, brothers, parents, friends, and lovers--giving voice to the what's unsayable in these relationships. In three sections, the book moves backwards through time, forming an arc that begins with loss, moving on to desire and a beloved, before concluding with propulsive pieces about art and ekphrasis. In these sections, the poet moves from a place of support and community to one of solitude.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis collection considers how we are made, before thinking about what it takes to become a writer or artist, and if solitude is a prerequisite for creation. Images of water's ephemerality, what happens above and below its surface, thread \u003ci\u003eReading Water\u003c\/i\u003e together. This collection finds kinship in the work of poets like Brenda Shaughnessy, Nick Flynn, Elizabeth Bishop, Stanley Kunitz, Gail Mazur, and Alan Shapiro.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 108\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.06 x 8.93 x 6.61 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 01, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47354275660025,"sku":"9781962206211","price":21.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/wCMgoAkL9u9781962206211_7243094f-00e8-493f-93cf-ef5c3ba90b67.webp?v=1769833447","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/reading-water-poems-paperback-2","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}