{"product_id":"english-as-a-second-language-and-other-poems-9781556596575","title":"English as a Second Language and Other Poems","description":"\u003cb\u003eWarm tenderness and fiery critique sit side-by-side in Bolina's \u003ci\u003eEnglish as A Second Language\u003c\/i\u003e, a collection that skewers, laments, and celebrates America with intelligence, humility, and a disarming sense of humor.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Jaswinder Bolina's \u003ci\u003eEnglish as A Second Language and Other Poems\u003c\/i\u003e, we are asked to imagine the tender and harsh realities of this world within a single breath-- a Steiff monkey resting next to a child in a crib and the tired hands of \"a thousand \/women in Sidi Bouzid\" assembling the stuffed animal. Coated in an armor of wit and humor and steeped in the idiosyncrasies of language, \u003ci\u003eEnglish as a Second Language\u003c\/i\u003e pits sentimentality against cynicism and the personal against the national. What remains is the kaleidoscopic image of the modern American condition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom elegy to persona, wide-ranging poems tell the story of a child of immigrants becoming a parent against the tumultuous backdrop of our politics and culture. Where the collection asks, \"What chance do any of us have?,\" the poet finds hope, possibility. Bolina's musical poems zip across time, challenging the fixity of the book. Clues offer the possibility of an alternate reading, where backwards, a new emotional arc appears--dreamlike, the nostalgic origin story of a sleep-deprived parent tracing a path through language and history. Forwards, backwards, \u003ci\u003eEnglish as a Second Language\u003c\/i\u003e skewers, laments, and celebrates America with intelligence and humility.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJaswinder Bolina's previous books include his debut essay collection \u003ci\u003eOf Color\u003c\/i\u003e (McSweeney's 2020) and three full-length poetry collections, \u003ci\u003eThe 44th of July\u003c\/i\u003e (Omnidawn 2019), \u003ci\u003ePhantom Camera\u003c\/i\u003e (New Issues Press 2013)--winner of the 2012 Green Rose Prize in Poetry--and \u003ci\u003eCarrier Wave\u003c\/i\u003e (CLP 2007)--winner of the 2006 Colorado Prize for Poetry. He is also author of the digital chapbook \u003ci\u003eThe Tallest Building in America\u003c\/i\u003e (Floating Wolf Quarterly 2014). His poems have appeared in or are forthcoming from journals and magazines including \u003ci\u003eAmerican Poetry Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGettysburg Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePloughshares\u003c\/i\u003e, among others. His essays have been featured at \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eParis Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eShenandoah\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Believer\u003c\/i\u003e, Poetry Foundation dot org, and others. He teaches on the faculty of the MFA program in creative writing at the University of Miami.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Copper Canyon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50626719547666,"sku":"9781556596575","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9be2ebc3-5601-4a17-b368-c4c64ce39fd2.jpg?v=1732666967","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/english-as-a-second-language-and-other-poems-9781556596575","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}