{"product_id":"how-to-carry-water-selected-poems-of-lucille-clifton","title":"How to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEdited with a Foreword by Aracelis Girmay, \u003ci\u003eHow to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton\u003c\/i\u003e celebrates both familiar and lesser-known works by one of America’s most beloved poets, including 10 newly discovered poems that have never been collected.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese poems celebrating black womanhood and resilience shimmer with intellect, insight, humor, and joy, all in Clifton’s characteristic style—a voice that the late Toni Morrison described as “seductive with the simplicity of an atom, which is to say highly complex, explosive underneath an apparent quietude.” Selected and introduced by award-winning poet Aracelis Girmay, this volume of Clifton’s poetry is simultaneously timeless and fitting for today’s tumultuous moment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eA special thank you to the Lannan Foundation and to all of our \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.boaeditions.org\/pages\/lucille-clifton-challenge-grant\" title=\"Learn more about the Lucille Clifton Challenge Grant\"\u003eClifton Challenge Grant\u003c\/a\u003e supporters and \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/boaeditions\/lucille-cliftons-selected-poems\/description\" title=\"Help us publish How to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton\"\u003eKickstarter\u003c\/a\u003e backers for making this book possible!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePraise for Lucille Clifton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cscript src=\"\/\/lithub.com\/b\/v1\/bookmarks.js?ver=1.5\"\u003e\u003c\/script\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"bm-reviews\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Clifton was one of America’s great poets, whose work throughout her lifetime was committed to chronicling and celebrating black lives. The honesty, joy, wisdom, and hope she brought to this task is regenerative.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Tracy K. Smith, former U.S. Poet Laureate\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Clifton’s earliest poems could have been written yesterday, and her later works could have been written decades ago. Each poem is always its own world. Her poems touch on the political, the personal, the spiritual.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Reginald Dwayne Betts, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Open up to any page and Clifton delivers a word. Whether the subject is roaches, family, death, or surviving, she has a psalm for all occasions. She can create the most complicated magic out of the simplest words.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Danez Smith, \u003ci\u003eThe Week\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cb\u003ewater sign woman\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ethe woman who feels everything\u003cbr\u003esits in her new house\u003cbr\u003ewaiting for someone to come\u003cbr\u003ewho knows how to carry water\u003cbr\u003ewithout spilling, who knows\u003cbr\u003ewhy the desert is sprinkled\u003cbr\u003ewith salt, why tomorrow\u003cbr\u003eis such a long and ominous word.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethey say to the feel things woman\u003cbr\u003ethat little she dreams is possible,\u003cbr\u003ethat there is only so much\u003cbr\u003ejoy to go around, only so much\u003cbr\u003ewater. there are no questions\u003cbr\u003efor this, no arguments. she has\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eto forget to remember the edge\u003cbr\u003eof the sea, they say, to forget\u003cbr\u003ehow to swim to the edge, she has\u003cbr\u003eto forget how to feel. the woman\u003cbr\u003ewho feels everything sits in her\u003cbr\u003enew house retaining the secret\u003cbr\u003ethe desert knew when it walked\u003cbr\u003eup from the ocean, the desert,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eso beautiful in her eyes;\u003cbr\u003ewater will come again\u003cbr\u003eif you can wait for it.\u003cbr\u003eshe feels what the desert feels.\u003cbr\u003eshe waits.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BOA Editions, Ltd.","offers":[{"title":"Cloth","offer_id":40573179723947,"sku":"9781950774142","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":40573179756715,"sku":"9781950774159","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/0178\/products\/HowToCarryWater_FC_RGB.jpg?v=1587558091","url":"https:\/\/shop.boaeditions.org\/products\/how-to-carry-water-selected-poems-of-lucille-clifton","provider":"Boa Editions","version":"1.0","type":"link"}