Hour of the Mango Black Moon

by Lieberman, Laurence

• ISBN13: 9781900715935
• ISBN10: 1900715937
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-04-01
• Publisher: Peepal Tree Press Ltd.

Summary

Inspired in part by a group of paintings from Caribbean masters Greaves, Akyem, and Ishi, this collection of poems finds resonance by relating to the 19th-century poetic tradition of “pictorialism” to create a vivid, enthusiastic energy. More than simply commenting on these paintings, however, these poems engage their subjects and creators to achieve something similar to the best art criticism, an exact and exhilarating encounter with the visual arts that produces a powerful beauty all its own. Included are 16 color plates of the paintings described in the collection.

Author Biography

Laurence Lieberman has published 12 collections of poetry and his work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, The New Republic, and The New Yorker. He lives in Urbana, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Stanley Greaves: The Maverick Hatter
Peas for Eldorado	11	(4)
After Two Paintings
Stanley Greaves
Madonna with Pumpkin	15	(3)
The Neophyte	18	(4)
The Baxter Street Waltz	22	(4)
The Maverick Hatter	26	(4)
Acuity	30	(2)
Door Stoop Amours	32	(2)
Fable of Mismatched Pairs	34	(3)
School for Pancaking	37	(3)
Mapping the Sargasso City	40	(5)
Hour of Three Black Suns	45	(4)
Fable of Sky-borne Bananas	49	(5)
Magus with Reverse Bananas	54	(5)
Hour of the Mango Black Moon	59	(6)
Ras Akyem: Stick Paramours
Ear Mug Handle	65	(2)
Breath from the Mouths of Gloves	67	(3)
Moby at Ringside	70	(5)
A Taino's Burbly Hereafter	75	(3)
Stick Paramours	78	(9)
The Grandeur of Foot Soles	87	(4)
When the Waters Returned	91	(4)
Requiem with Trumpeting Elephants	95	(7)
Crush into these Blakk Feet	102	(11)
Ras Ishi: Soil Eyes
Marooned	113	(3)
Shark at the Gate	116	(3)
Whip Tail of the One-eyed Chief	119	(4)
Soil Eyes	123	(3)
Aerial Geographies	126	(6)
Omnivorous	132	(6)
Notes	138