{"product_id":"struggling-times","title":"Struggling Times","description":"\u003cp\u003ePulitzer Prize-winning poet Louis Simpson has been a leading figure in American letters for more than half-a-century. Born in the West Indies, Simpson emigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen. He studied at Columbia University, then served the U.S. Army in active duty in Europe during World War II. After the war he continued his studies at Columbia and at the University of Paris. While living in France he published his first book of poems, \u003cem\u003eThe Arrivistes\u003c\/em\u003e (1949). The poems in\u003cem\u003e Struggling Times\u003c\/em\u003e find Simpson's distinct imaginative voice working at its full poetic power. Both timely and personal, the poems reveal Simpson's on-going quarrel with suburban America, as well as his concerns about the direction of an American society struggling to retain its integrity in the midst of widespread challenges and worldwide strife. \"This is the Jamaican-born Simpson's 18th collection; its dry trimeters and tragic resignations should certainly please the faithful fans... Yet the new poems, as much as any in his oeuvre, leave room for unexpected happiness...Simpson believes in endurance and the rewards of the ordinary. He can, at his best, make his readers believe in those things too.\"--\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e \"It is narrative and voice --the honesty and inflection, wit and irony...that draw readers into his world.\" --\u003cem\u003eThe Hudson Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eSuddenly\u003c\/strong\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The truck came at me, \u003cbr\u003e I swerved\u003cbr\u003e but I got a dent.   \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The car insurance woman \u003cbr\u003e informs me that my policy\u003cbr\u003e has been cancelled.   \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e I say, “You can’t do that.” \u003cbr\u003e She gives me a little smile \u003cbr\u003e and goes back to her nails.   \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Lately have you noticed \u003cbr\u003e how aggressively people drive?\u003cbr\u003e A \u003cem\u003ewhoosh!\u003c\/em\u003e and whatever.   \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Some people are suddenly \u003cbr\u003e very rich, and as many \u003cbr\u003e suddenly very poor.   \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e As for the war, don’t get me started. \u003cbr\u003e We were too busy watching\u003cbr\u003e the ball game to see   \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e that the things we care about \u003cbr\u003e are suddenly disappearing, \u003cbr\u003e and that they always were.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e © BOA Editions, Ltd 2009\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Available Editions:\u003cbr\u003e -----------------------------------------------------------------------   \u003cbr\u003e ISBN: 978-1-934414-19-4\u003cbr\u003e Paperback $16.00\u003cbr\u003e Publishing Date: April 2009        \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BOA Editions, Ltd.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8420003973,"sku":"9781934414194","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/0178\/products\/StrugglingTimes_LSimpson.jpg?v=1527683356","url":"https:\/\/shop.boaeditions.org\/products\/struggling-times","provider":"Boa Editions","version":"1.0","type":"link"}