In this Book
- The Little Space: Poems Selected and New, 1968–1998
- Book
- 1998
- Published by: University of Pittsburgh Press
- Series: Pitt Poetry Series
summary
In this selection of poems from thirty years of a distinguished writing career, we see the growth of a poet’s mind, heart, and spirit as Ostriker struggles to love “this wounded / World that we cannot heal, that is our bride.” Whether she probes the meaning of childhood, family, marriage, and motherhood, or art, history, politics, and God; whether she is celebrating sexuality or confronting mortality, the poet includes “whatever I can grasp of human experience within my art—the good and beautiful, the evil and chaotic. I tell my students that they must write what they are afraid to write; and I attempt to do so myself.”
Table of Contents
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- Early Poems (1968–1974)
- The Anniversary
- pp. 3-12
- Wrinkly Lady Dancer
- pp. 8-17
- A Dream of Springtime (1979)
- Becky and Benny in Far Rockaway
- pp. 11-20
- Sonnet. To Tell the Truth
- pp. 12-21
- Annie, Aphrodite, and the Elevator
- pp. 13-14
- Portraite de l’Artiste
- pp. 15-24
- Portrait of a Man
- pp. 16-25
- The Mother/Child Papers (1980)
- Excerpts from “Mother/Child”
- pp. 26-35
- Mother/Child: Coda
- pp. 36-37
- The Leaf Pile
- pp. 39-40
- The Change
- pp. 41-42
- In the Dust
- pp. 43-52
- His Speed and Strength
- pp. 44-53
- A Woman Under the Surface (1982)
- The Waiting Room
- pp. 47-48
- After the Shipwreck
- pp. 49-58
- The Crazy Lady Speaking
- pp. 50-59
- The Exchange
- pp. 51-60
- The History of America
- pp. 52-61
- Dream: The Disclosure
- pp. 53-62
- Homecoming
- pp. 53-55
- The Impulse of Singing
- pp. 56-65
- The Runner
- pp. 59-60
- A Minor Van Gogh (He Speaks):
- pp. 61-70
- Waterlilies and Japanese Bridge
- pp. 62-63
- The Singing School
- pp. 64-73
- The Imaginary Lover (1986)
- Mother in Airport Parking Lot
- pp. 75-76
- The Marriage Nocturne
- pp. 77-78
- Meeting the Dead
- pp. 86-87
- A Question of Time
- pp. 90-91
- Taking the Shuttle with Franz
- pp. 95-96
- Everywoman Her Own Theology
- pp. 97-98
- The War of Men and Women
- pp. 103-110
- A Clearing by a Stream
- pp. 111-112
- Letting the Doves Out
- pp. 113-114
- Green Age (1989)
- A Young Woman, a Tree
- pp. 119-121
- George in Hospital
- pp. 123-132
- Excerpts from “A Birthday Suite”
- pp. 124-127
- The Pure Products of America
- pp. 130-131
- Windshield
- pp. 132-141
- The Death Ghazals
- pp. 136-140
- A Meditation in Seven Days
- pp. 141-151
- Excerpts from “Homage to Rumi”
- pp. 152-156
- To Love Is
- pp. 157-158
- The Crack in Everything (1996)
- The Dogs at Live Oak Beach, Santa Cruz
- pp. 163-172
- Marie at Tea
- pp. 166-168
- Nude Descending
- pp. 172-173
- The Studio (Homage to Alice Neel)
- pp. 174-183
- Appearance and Reality
- pp. 175-176
- The Boys, the Broomhandle, the Retarded Girl
- pp. 177-186
- The Eighth and Thirteenth
- pp. 178-180
- Saturday Night
- pp. 181-182
- The Book of Life
- pp. 183-190
- Middle-Aged Woman at a Pond
- pp. 191-200
- The Nature of Beauty
- pp. 192-193
- Locker Room Conversation
- pp. 196-197
- Jonah’s Gourd Vine
- pp. 198-207
- Excerpts from “The Mastectomy Poems”
- pp. 202-214
- Uncollected and New Poems (1980–1998)
- A Chinese Fan Painting
- pp. 222-231
- Anselm Kiefer
- pp. 224-233
- Millennial Polka
- pp. 228-237
- About Time
- pp. 229-230
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 231-240
- About the Author, Back Cover
- pp. 241-242
Additional Information
ISBN
9780822979388
Related ISBN(s)
9780822940807, 9780822956808
MARC Record
OCLC
606997812
Pages
240
Launched on MUSE
2015-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No