Some Bodies in the Grief Bed bookcover

Some Bodies in the Grief Bed

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Description

Some Bodies in the Grief Bed is Rick Benjamin's latest attempt to find the intersection of the human and the non-human in the context of this earth's ecology. A poem about migrations butterflies and others make might be followed by another appearing in the life of a family; and this poet is always trying to face down the distinction between them. At the same time, he is deeply interested in every detail of either: giraffe's eating an Acacia's topmost leaves and pods; the way the sound of percussive roofs in rain bring up memories a boy might have thought he'd buried. These are offered as equal parts of one book, planets orbiting around the same sun. As the title suggests, Some Bodies in the Grief Bed evolves around loss, but also those moments of ecstasy and joy that are attached to them. As Martín suggests, such grief is also and always just another opportunity to praise everything and everyone we've been lucky enough to hold and have in this world without keeping. This book reminds us both to hold each moment and to be more mindful of what it's made (out) of-- the organic, impermanent nature of our "passing love" (Langston Hughes) on this planet.

Product Details

PublisherHomebound Publications
Publish DateApril 13, 2021
Pages120
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconPaperback / softback
EAN/UPC9781953340047
Dimensions9.0 X 6.0 X 0.3 inches | 0.4 pounds

About the Author

Rick Benjamin lives on Chumash land in Goleta, California, and tries to remind himself of that fact that each day as he walks ancient trails near his house. Currently teaching a range of courses at the University of California Santa Barbara, ranging from poetry and community, the wild literature of ecology, and the literatures of both social and juvenile justice, he also finds himself working among elders, with middle-school students at a local Boys and Girls Club, in art museums and in youth detention facilities. Among his works are the books of poetry, Passing Love, Floating World, and Endless Distances. Rick lives with his partner of many years, Margaret Klawunn, and mostly in reach of their twin sons, and daughter. He served as the Poet Laureate of Rhode Island from 2012 - 2016.

Reviews

"'Suppose the cure for death / was simply dying / toward a new life, ' writes Rick Benjamin in this collection strung with equal parts elegy and imagination. In Some Bodies in the Grief Bed, Benjamin trains his focus forward and backward, giving names to all that grief makes kin: the violence of borders, memories of childhood, bodies that hurt and haunt and, finally, come apart. But this is a gentle looking. If it's possible to write with compassion for the words themselves, it's here, where Benjamin's signature, clear voice invites us to 'briefly celebrate together' the ties that bind, even--maybe especially--in the wake of their breaking." -Franny Choi
"'Suppose the cure for death / was simply dying / toward a new life, ' writes Rick Benjamin in this collection strung with equal parts elegy and imagination. In Some Bodies in the Grief Bed, Benjamin trains his focus forward and backward, giving names to all that grief makes kin: the violence of borders, memories of childhood, bodies that hurt and haunt and, finally, come apart. But this is a gentle looking. If it's possible to write with compassion for the words themselves, it's here, where Benjamin's signature, clear voice invites us to 'briefly celebrate together' the ties that bind, even-maybe especially-in the wake of their breaking." -Franny Choi
"Some Bodies in the Grief Bed: What a perfect lens through which to read Rick Benjamin's remarkable poems, poems that both calm and greatly disturb! He's thought deeply and speaks precisely, always with the understanding that all of it, every morsel of all that you love and are in fear of, is connected. These poems, if you allow them, can recalibrate your ability to find again the 'brightness / inside you can't imagine / ever wanting to turn off.' They're blessings and they're prayers, crafted by a keen mind and with unflinching generosity, poems that will take us, as readers, eyes open, to the center of Benjamin's utterly human and awakened heart." -Renée Ashley
I am very moved by Rick Benjamin's poems- I love his subjects, his style, his whole sensibility. -Naomi Shihab Nye
I am very moved by Rick Benjamin's poems-- I love his subjects, his style, his whole sensibility. -Naomi Shihab Nye
"Good poets are able to paint a picture or set a scene by using their abilities to observe and record. It is often the poet who tells the story of transcendent beauty, such as that of a butterfly. A better poet is able to also see the pain inside the beauty. However, it is a truly remarkable poet who is able to connect the beauty and pain of a migratory butterfly to the larger human world and give us new insight into both. Throughout Rick Benjamin's Some Bodies in the Grief Bed, in poem and sparkling poem, he reminds us how human we can still be, and in doing so, he also reminds us how gifted a poet he is." -Le Hinton

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