{"product_id":"9781555973926","title":"The Venus Hottentot","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eElizabeth Alexander's highly praised first collection is available once again\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eI didn't want to write a poem that said \"blackness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eis,\" because we know better than anyone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ethat we are not one or ten or ten thousand things\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNot one poem\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e -from \"Today's News\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOriginally published in 1990 to widespread acclaim, \u003ci\u003eThe Venus Hottentot\u003c\/i\u003e introduces Elizabeth Alexander's vital poetic voice, distinguished even in this remarkable first book by its examination of history, gender, and race with an uncommon clarity and music. These poems range from personal memory to cultural history to human personae: John Coltrane, Frida Kahlo, Nelson Mandela, and \"The Venus Hottentot,\" a nineteenth-century African woman who was made into a carnival sideshow exhibit. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn language as vibrant within traditional forms as it is within improvisational lyrics, the poems in \u003ci\u003eThe Venus Hottentot\u003c\/i\u003e demonstrate why Alexander is among our most dazzling and important contemporary poets and cultural critics.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Alexander creates intellectual magic in poem after poem.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Graywolf Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47060308951280,"sku":"9781555973926","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781555973926_p0.jpg?v=1763754386","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781555973926","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}