 | |
| Author | Mei-mei Berssenbrugge |
|---|---|
| Publisher | New Directions Publishing |
Publication date | February 25, 2020 |
| Pages | 96 |
| Awards | Bollingen Prize |
| ISBN | 978-0811229388 |
| Preceded by | Hello, the Roses |
A Treatise on Stars is a 2020 poetry collection by Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, published by New Directions Publishing. [1] Her fourteenth book of poems, it was nominated for several awards and won the Bollingen Prize in 2021. [2]
The book's poems examine topics such as the environment and the cosmos writ large, with themes regarding human and natural connection, observation and witnessing, and scientific phenomena such as wave–particle duality.
The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. [3] It was also a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry; the judges called it "a breathtaking record of biological, chemical, and spiritual entanglement." [4] It was a finalist for the PEN/Open Book Award and the Kingsley Tufts Award. [5] [6]
Publishers Weekly called it a "searching" poetry collection with "intriguing, beautiful, yet sometimes frustrating poems take shape as explanations that fail, again and again, to explain anything". [7]
AGNI wrote that "in A Treatise on Stars I get the feeling that Berssenbrugge not only know what she’s building, but is aware of something more: the language and the life that thrives around—and precisely because of—this new thing." [8] The Los Angeles Review of Books noted "there is something hopeful about the vast compassion of Berssenbrugge’s poetry and the living connections she gently illuminates between all things." [9] The Poetry Project said "Within these poems, every thing is touching every other thing, more like processes imbricated, ecologies extending into one another, dimensions porous." [10] Southwest Contemporary said "Throughout the book, extended serial poems move across the page in quietly powerful long lines, resulting in a hypnotic affect. The reading experience is so trance-like and meditative that it’s easy to overlook the book’s investigations into larger questions of existence." [11]
The Bollingen Prize for Poetry is a literary honor bestowed on an American poet. Every two years, the award recognizes a poet for best new volume of work or lifetime achievement. It is awarded without nominations or submissions by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University.
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Mei-mei Berssenbrugge is a contemporary poet. Winner of two American Book Awards, her work is often associated with the Language School, the poetry of the New York School, phenomenology, and visual art. She is married to the painter Richard Tuttle, with whom she has frequently collaborated.
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Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Major poetry-related events that took place worldwide during 2018 are outlined below, in various different sections. This includes poetry books released during the year in different languages, major literary awards, poetry festivals and events, besides anniversaries and deaths of renowned poets, etc. Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Incendiary Art is a collection of poems written by American poet, Patricia Smith. It was published on February 15, 2017, by TriQuarterly Books, an imprint of Northwestern University Press. This collection was written as a response to the violent deaths of African American males and females in the United States, with a focus on the grief of the mothers who try to protect them, to no avail. Its title is a reference to the role of fire in African American lives, including the burning of Ku Klux Klan crosses and the burning spurred by riots in Black communities across America.
Major poetry related events taking place worldwide during 2020 are outlined below under different sections. This includes poetry books released during the year in different languages, major literary awards, poetry festivals and events, besides anniversaries and deaths of renowned poets etc. Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Major poetry related events which took place worldwide during 2019 are outlined below under different sections. This includes poetry books released during the year in different languages, major literary awards, poetry festivals and events, besides anniversaries and deaths of renowned poets etc. Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Major poetry related events taking place worldwide during 2022 are outlined below under different sections. These include poetry books released during the year in different languages, major poetry awards, poetry festivals and events, besides anniversaries and deaths of renowned poets etc. Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Brandon Som is an American poet. His collections include The Tribute Horse (2014) and Tripas: Poems (2023), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2024. He is an associate professor of literature and creative writing at the University of California, San Diego.