Story of a Poem: A Memoir

Story of a Poem: A Memoir - Hardcover

$28.00
$28.00
Skip to product information
Story of a Poem: A Memoir
  • Story of a Poem: A Memoir
Story of a Poem: A Memoir - Hardcover

Story of a Poem: A Memoir - Hardcover

by Matthew Zapruder
$28.00
$28.00

Book Overview

"A document of not only how to make a poem, but how to live in a world where language often fails us." --Ada Limón, U.S. Poet Laureate

Matthew Zapruder had an idea: to write a poem as slowly and intentionally as possible, to preserve its drafts, and record the painstaking, elusively transcendent stuff of its construction. It would be the end cap to a new collection of poetry, and a means to process modern American life in a time of political turmoil, mega fires, and sobriety. What Zapruder didn't anticipate was that this literary project would reveal a deeply personal aspect as well: a way to resolve the unexplored pain and unexpected joys he was confronting in the wake of his son's diagnosis with autism.The result is a remarkable piece of writing, one that explores not just what it means to be a poet and father, but also what it means to be alive on this planet during this turbulent and extraordinary time. By comparing the writing of a poem with his own tangled evolution as a son, husband and father, Zapruder unfolds moments of his own life in the reflection of an increasingly uncanny world. With a wide range of reference points-- from Celan, Li Bai and Frank O'Hara to Whitman, Merwin and Rupi Kaur--we join Zapruder on a poet's journey; that in some alchemy of literature, becomes a journey of our own.Ultimately, the poet asks us to join with him in the search for a crucial answer. In his words: "What world can we imagine, and then make, where we all can live?" With Story of a Poem celebrated poet Matthew Zapruder offers a personal, deeply unguarded examination of a poet's eternal struggle to transform a moment of feeling into verse, as well as a subtle and enthralling roadmap to the practice of poetry and finding its threads in everyday life."Story of a Poem is the luminous, lyrical meditation on wringing beauty from suffering and air, threaded with a singular, moving story about parenting an atypical child. I read it in a single gulp, and you will too." --Mary Karr, Bestselling author of The Liars' Club and Cherry
ISBN9781951213688
Author Matthew Zapruder
PublisherUnnamed Press
GenreBiography, Literature, Family, and Relationships
FormatHardcover
PublishedApril 2023
LanguageENG- English
Pages207
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Biography & Autobiography Family & Relationships Nonfiction Poetry

1% fer Each of the Seven Seas

Every purchase sends 7% of our profits to The Ocean Cleanup. No fine print, no opt-in — just how we sail.

Whoever Ye Be, Welcome Aboard

Queer lit, music, art, philosophy, fiction — stories for every kind of soul. Come as ye are, matey.

More by Matthew Zapruder

Why Poetry

Why Poetry - Paperback

Why Poetry - Paperback

By Matthew Zapruder

About Matthew Zapruder

Matthew Zapruder: Matthew Zapruder holds degrees from Amherst College, UC Berkeley, and the University of Massachusetts. He is the author of two collections of poetry, American Linden and The Pajamaist, which won the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America and was honored by Library Journal as one of the top ten poetry volumes of 2006. He lives in San Francisco, teaches poetry as a member of the permanent faculty of the Juniper Summer Writing Institute, and works as an editor for Wave Books.

You may also like