PITTSBURGH, Pa.— “I”: New and Selected Poems, the highly anticipated new volume from acclaimed poet Toi Derricotte, is one of five poetry collections shortlisted for the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry.
In “I”, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press and Pitt Poetry Series in March 2019, Derricotte ponders her own question, “How do you gain access to the power of parts of yourself you abhor, and make them sing with beauty, tenderness, and compassion?” She answers, “This is the record of 50 years of victories in the reclamation of a poet’s voice.”
“I” features nearly three dozen new poems, plus selections from Derricotte’s previous collections, including The Empress of the Death House, Natural Birth, Captivity, Tender, and The Undertaker’s Daughter.
Publishers Weekly praised the collection by saying, “This retrospective volume unflinchingly explores the author’s complex experiences as a light-skinned black woman in America.”
The National Book Award for Poetry is one of four annual National Book Awards, given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. Other poets named as finalists for the 2019 prize include Jericho Brown, author of The Tradition, and Deaf Republic poet Ilya Kaminsky.
Derricotte is the author of The Undertaker’s Daughter and four previous poetry collections, including Tender, winner of the Paterson Poetry Prize. She is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, among other honors. Derricotte is cofounder of Cave Canem, professor emerita at the University of Pittsburgh, and a former chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
The National Book Award winners will be announced at the 70th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner on Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at Cipriani Wall Street.
– University of Pittsburgh Press
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