{"product_id":"9781878818973","title":"What to Tip the Boatman?","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere are those rare human bings among us who themselves embody so much myth, history, and poetry that what they do includes a depth of profane and sacred meaning, of before and after, whatever the present event.  Cleopatra Mathis is such a poet and hero in a non-heroic age, a poet who comes back from hell, from where all heroes must go and return, offering us her poetry, a gift of new life, beauty, and understanding.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMuch of this remarkable book of poems is about mothering—the poet as mother of a troubled and gifted daughter.  These are \"household poems\" in the sense that the \u003ci\u003eIliad\u003c\/i\u003e is about the household of Priam.  The modern Greeks sometimes say that a person is \"put twice in the fire,\" as iron is put twice in the fire to strengthen it.  Cleopatra Mathis is such a person and such a poet.  Her life is a flame and so is the poetry.  The reader has reason to be grateful to her for this lyrical iron.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sheep Meadow Press, The","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47039549178096,"sku":"9781878818973","price":12.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781878818973_p0.jpg?v=1763603215","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781878818973","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}