The Poetry of Capital
Voices from Twenty-First-Century America
Edited by Clare Rossini and Benjamin J. Grossberg
What do we talk about when we talk about money? As the forty-four poets in this brilliant new anthology show, the answer is everything. From the impact of global economic crises to local tag sales, from the subversive effects of dark money on politics to the freedom granted by a summer job, from the sweatshops where our clothes are produced to the malls where they are sold, this volume gets to the heart of Americans’ relationship to capital as only poetry can.
“I’m thankful for the cogent conference of these poems…offering community around one of the most intimate and infamous topics….”
—Tarfia Faizullah
“…an embarrassment of riches.”
—Ronald Wallace
A unique and inherently fascinating read, The Poetry of Capital will prove to be a valued and enduringly appreciated addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library collections.
—Midwest Book Review
Lingo
In “Foreword,” the opening poem of Clare Rossini’s new book, the poet exclaims: “Don’t tell me the tongue’s / Not a magical place.” And who would argue the point after reading these poems in which the body and spirit of language bring such joy, from a toddler’s garbled imitations to the lines of Shakespeare? Whether in the Midwest or New England, in elegies or celebrations, Rossini takes comfort in the miracle of words, where the homely and exotic can flourish at the same time, like the thought of flamingoes in Minnesota (“Rice Country Soliloquy”). Rossini treats both the human and the natural world with tenderness and good-hearted humor, her wit and compassion as impressive as the bravura of her plainspoken poetry.
—Elton Glaser
Winter Morning with Crow
Chosen by Donald Justice for the 1996 Akron Poetry Prize
What a bright, engaging, lively intelligence is at play here! …Clare Rossini seems mostly to love the world without sounding particularly foolish about it. Her best poems may be the ones in which she addresses trees and birds as friendly equals, but it is hard to forget “Elegy in Four Parts,” a sadly beautiful set of poems having to do with the stillbirth of a child. These poems are, finally, models of that sort of eloquence which comes mainly from a steady precision of language and observation. Which is never easy.
—Donald Justice
Selections from the Claudia Poems
Selections from the Claudia Poems is an art book edition. published by the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts in 1997. Mary Hark is the book artist. The print run is sold out.