Ordinary Words, Ruth Stone's new collection of poems, is the recipient of The Academy of American Poets Eric Mathieu King Award. Written between 1995 and 1998, this collection of formal and free verse profoundly responds to our century's closure. Poems take place in trailer parks and trains traveling through Texas; her heroes are plumbers, dead uncles, the teenage daughters of struggling single mothers. The poet speaks to other poets and poetry lovers, as well as to individuals intimidated and unfamiliar with poetry. Stone speaks with candor and humor about current events and the human condition. Ordinary Words weaves confrontations of racism, poverty, aging, and the environment into poems of vibrant, direct language and stunning lyricism. "Mother Poet" to our most famous contemporary poets, Ruth Stone shows that poetry can be food, oxygen, and comfort through the love, danger, and despair of everyday life.
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