Song of Thieves

by McCallum, Shara

• ISBN13: 9780822958130
• ISBN10: 0822958139
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-02-01
• Publisher: Univ of Pittsburgh Pr

Summary

A lyrical examination of loss and grief, Song of Thieves delves into issues of racial identity and politics, the immigrant experience, and the search for "home" and for family histories. McCallum artfully blends Jamaican patois, parables, songs, nursery rhymes, and other features of orality into her poems. She evinces an ear for the intrinsic music of poetry in this haunting and ambitious collection. Song of Thieves confirms her reputation as one of the most compelling new voices in American poetry.

Author Biography

Shara McCallum is the winner of the 1998 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize. Born in Jamaica, she currently lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee.

Table of Contents

Now the Guitar Begins
Last Song	p. 3
A Story	p. 4
Fate	p. 6
Electroshock	p. 7
Fugue	p. 8
The Call	p. 9
Interlude	p. 10
Genesis	p. 11
Music Not Meant for Music's Cage	p. 12
Coda	p. 13
The Flamboyant	p. 14
Wolves	p. 17
Par Drive	p. 18
The Story of Tanglehair	p. 19
Tanglehair's Mother Speaks	p. 20
Tanglehair's Dream	p. 21
The Incident	p. 22
Big Sister's Lament	p. 23
The Art Room	p. 24
Talisman	p. 25
The Story of the Madwoman by the Sea	p. 26
An Offering	p. 27
The Madwoman Dreams of the Beginning	p. 28
The Land of Look Behind	p. 31
Planting	p. 39
Autobiography of My Grandmother	p. 40
Miss Sally's Wisdom	p. 42
Vespers	p. 43
Matins	p. 44
Facing It	p. 45
Catechism	p. 46
Idolatry	p. 47
Mulatta	p. 48
Octaroon Song	p. 50
Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)	p. 51
What I'm telling you	p. 55
The Deer	p. 57
In the Dream	p. 58
Van Gogh's Almond Blossoms	p. 59
Vincent	p. 61
The Spider Speaks	p. 62
Six Ways of Envisioning Loss	p. 63
Atlanta, 1999	p. 65
Witness	p. 67
The Story So Far	p. 68
My Father's Words	p. 70
Acknowledgments	p. 72
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.