The Hungry Ear (20 page)

Authors: Kevin Young

Apple” from
The Book of Men
. Copyright Â© 2011 by Dorianne Laux. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Li-Young Lee, “The Weight of Sweetness” and “From Blossoms” from
Rose
. Copyright Â© 1986 by Li-Young Lee. Reprinted with the permission of the Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd.,
www.boaeditions.org
. Denise Levertov, “Stepping Westward” from
Poems: 1960â1967
. Copyright Â© 1966 by Denise Levertov. Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp. Larry Levis, “Picking Grapes in an Abandoned Vineyard” from
Selected Levis
. Copyright Â© 2000 by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Reprinted by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. Li Po, “Waiting for Wine that Doesn't Come” and “Something Said, Waking Drunk on a Spring Day,” translated by David Hinton, from
The Selected Poems of Li Po
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Vortex of Indian Fevers
. Copyright Â© 1995 by Adrian C. Louis. Reprinted with the permission of Northwestern University Press. Roddy Lumsden, “Specific Hunger” from
Mischief Night: New and Selected Poems
. Reprinted by permission of Bloodaxe Books, Ltd. Thomas Lux, “Refrigerator, 1957” from
New and Selected Poems: 1975â1995
. Copyright Â© 1997 by Thomas Lux. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. William Matthews, “Sooey Generous” from
After All: Last Poems
. Copyright Â© 1998 by the Estate of William Matthews. “Onions” and “Another Beer” from
Search Party: Collected Poems
, edited by Sebastian Matthews and Stanley Plumly. Copyright Â© 2004 by Sebastian Matthews and Stanley Plumly. All reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Campbell McGrath, “What They Ate” from
The New Yorker
(November 27, 1989). Copyright Â© 1989 by Campbell McGrath. Reprinted with the permission of the author. “Capitalist Poem #5” from
Capitalism
. Copyright Â© 1990 by Campbell McGrath. Reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press,
www.wesleyan.edu/wespress
. “The Orange” from
Florida Poems
. Copyright Â© 2003 by Campbell McGrath. Reprinted by permission of Harper Collins Publishers. “Woe” from
Pax Atomica
. Copyright Â© 2004 by Campbell McGrath. Reprinted by permission of Harper Collins Publishers. Rennie McQuilkin, “The Digging” from
The Weathering
(Antrim House, 2009). Reprinted with the permission of the author. Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Never May the Fruit Be Plucked” from
Collected Poems
. Copyright 1923, 1951 by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Norma Millay Ellis. Reprinted with the permission of the Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Holly Peppe, Literary Executor, the Millay Society,
www.millay.org
. Rick Moranis, “My Days Are
Numbered” from
The New York Times
(November 22, 2006), Op-Ed. Copyright Â© 2006. Reprinted by permission. Thylias Moss, “Remembering Kitchens” from
Small Congregations: New and Selected Poems
. Copyright Â© 1993 by Thylias Moss. Reprinted by permission of Harper Collins Publishers. Paul Muldoon, “Holy Thursday” from
Why Brownlee Left
. Copyright Â© 1980 by Paul Muldoon. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC. Harryette Mullen, excerpt from “Muse & Drudge” from
Recyclopedia: Trimmings, S*PeRM**K*T, and Muse
&
Drudge
. Copyright Â© 1992, 2006 by Harryette Mullen. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Graywolf Press,
www.graywolfpress.org
. Les Murray, “The Butter Factory,” “The Broad Bean Sermon,” and “Vindaloo in Merthyr Tydfil” from
Learning Human: Selected Poems
. Copyright Â© 1998 by Les Murray. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC. Howard Nemerov, “Bacon and Eggs” from
The Collected Poems of Howard Nemerov
. Copyright Â© 1977 by Howard Nemerov. Reprinted with the permission of the University of Chicago Press. Pablo Neruda, “Ode to the Onion,” translated by Stephen Mitchell, from
Full Woman, Fleshy Apple, Hot Moon: Selected Poems of Pablo Neruda
. Copyright Â© 1997 by Stephen Mitchell. Reprinted by permission of Harper Collins Publishers. “Ode to Salt,” translated by Philip Levine from
The Poetry of Pablo Neruda
(New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003). Reprinted with the permission of the translator. Naomi Shihab Nye, “Arabic Coffee.” Reprinted by permission of Naomi Shihab Nye, 2012. Frank O'Hara, “Beer for Breakfast” and “Having a Coke with You” from
The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara
. Copyright Â© 1956 by Frank O'Hara. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. “A Step Away from Them” from
Lunch Poems
. Copyright Â© 1964 by Frank O'Hara. Reprinted by permission of City Lights Books. Sharon Olds, “First Thanksgiving” from
Blood, Tin, Straw
. Copyright Â© 1999 by Sharon Olds. “Bread” from
The Dead and the Living
. Copyright Â© 1977 by Sharon Olds. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. Mary Oliver, “August” from
White Pine: Poems and Prose Poems
. Originally in Poetry (August 1993). Copyright Â© 1993 by Mary Oliver. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. “Farm Country” from
New and Selected Poems, Volume One
. Copyright Â© 1978 by Mary Oliver. Reprinted by permission of the Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency. “Mushrooms” from
American Primitive
. Copyright Â© 1983 by Mary Oliver. Reprinted by permission of Little, Brown and Company. Sylvia Plath, “Wintering” and “Blackberrying” from
Collected Poems
. Copyright Â© 1963 and renewed 1991 by Ted Hughes. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers and Faber and
Faber, Ltd. “Mushrooms” from
The Colossus and Other Poems
. Copyright Â© 1962 by Sylvia Plath. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. and Faber and Faber, Ltd. Minnie Bruce Pratt, “Breakfast” from
The Dirt She Ate: Selected and New Poems
. Copyright Â© 2003 by Minnie Bruce Pratt. Used by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. All rights reserved. Charles Reznikoff, “Te Deum” from
The Poems of Charles Reznikoff: 1918â1975
, edited by Seamus Cooney. Copyright Â© 2005 by Charles Reznikoff. Used by permission of Black Sparrow Press, an imprint of David R. Godine, Publisher, Inc. Adrienne Rich, “Peeling Onions” from
Snapshots of a Daughter-In-Law
. Copyright Â© 1967 by Adrienne Rich. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Theodore Roethke, “Root Cellar” and “My Papa's Waltz” from
The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke
. Copyright 1942 by Hearst Magazines, Inc. Copyright 1943 by Modern Poetry Association. Used by permission of Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Rumi, “We have a huge barrel of wine, but no cups” from
The Essential Rumi
, translated by Coleman Barks (New York: HarperCollins, 2004). Copyright Â© 1995, 2004 by Coleman Barks. Reprinted with the permission of the translator. Charles Simic, “Watermelons” and “The Soup” from
Return to a Place Lit By a Glass of Milk
. Copyright Â© 1974 by Charles Simic. Reprinted by permission of George Braziller, Inc. All rights reserved. Patricia Smith, “When the Burning Begins” from
Teahouse of the Almighty
. Copyright Â© 2006 by Patricia Smith. Reprinted with the permission of the Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Coffee House Press,
www.coffeehousepress.org
. Tracy K. Smith, “Appetite” from
The Body's Question
. Copyright Â© 2006 by Tracy K. Smith. Reprinted with the permission of the Permissions Company, Inc. on behalf of Graywolf Press,
www.graywolfpress.org
. W. D. Snodgrass, “Lasting” from
Not for Specialists: New and Selected Poems
. Copyright Â© 2006 by W. D. Snodgrass. Reprinted with the permission of the Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd.,
www.boaeditions.org
. Gary Soto, “The Plum's Heart” from
New and Selected Poems
. Copyright Â© 1995 by Gary Soto. Used with the permission of Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco. Visit chroniclebooks.com. William Stafford, “Blackberries Are Back” from
Someday, Maybe
(New York: Harper & Row, 1973). Copyright Â© 1973 by William Stafford. Reprinted with the permission of the Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of the Estate of William Stafford. Gerald Stern, “Planting Strawberries” and “Grapefruit” from
Early Collected Poems, 1965â1992
. Copyright Â© 1987 by Gerald Stern. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Ruth Stone, “Pokeberries” and “American Milk” from
What Love Comes To: New
&
Selected Poems
. Copyright Â© 2008 by Ruth Stone. Reprinted with the permission
of the Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Copper Canyon Press,
www.coppercanyonpress.org
. Sharan Strange, “Offering” from
Ash
. Copyright Â© 2001 by Sharan Strange. Reprinted by permission of Beacon Press, Boston. Mark Strand, “Pot Roast” from
Selected Poems
. Copyright Â© 1990 by Mark Strand. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. Adrienne Su, “Four Sonnets About Food” from
Middle Kingdom
. Copyright Â© 1997 by Adrienne Su. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Alice James Books,
www.alicejamesbooks.org
. Mary Swander, “Ode to Okra” from
Heaven-and-Earth House
. Copyright Â© 1974 by Mary Swander. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. May Swenson, “Strawberrying” from
In Other Words
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987). Copyright Â© 1987 by May Swenson. Reprinted with the permission of The Literary Estate of May Swenson. All rights reserved. Natasha Trethewey, “Invocation, 1926.” Reprinted with the permission of the author. Liz Waldner, “Sad Verso of the Sunnyââ” from
The New Yorker
(November 23, 2009). Reprinted with the permission of the author. Rosanna Warren, “Orchard” from
Each Leaf Shines Separate
. Copyright Â© 1984 by Rosanna Warren. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Joe Wenderoth, “July 3, 1996,” “July 6, 1996,” “August 19. 1996,” “November 16, 1996,” “February 14. 1997,” and “July 9, 1997” from
Letters to Wendy's
. Copyright Â© 2007 by Joe Wenderoth. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Wave Books,
www.wavepoetry.com
. Richard Wilbur, “Potato” from
The Beautiful Changes and Other Poems
. Copyright 1947 and renewed Â© 1975 by Richard Wilbur. “Blackberries for Amelia” from
New and Collected Poems
. Copyright Â© 2004 by Richard Wilbur. All rights reserved. Both reprinted with permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. William Carlos Williams, “To a Poor Old Woman” and “This is Just to Say” from
The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams, Volume I, 1909â1939
, edited by Christopher MacGowan. Copyright 1938 by New Directions Publishing Corp. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp. James Wright, “Two Hangovers” from
The Branch Will Not Break
. Copyright Â© 1962 by James Wright. Reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press,
www.wesleyan.edu/wespress
. Jake Adam York, “United States of Barbecue.” Reprinted with the permission of the author. Kevin Young, “The Preserving” from
Most Way Home
. Copyright Â© 1995 by Kevin Young/Fisted Pick Productions. Reprinted by permission of Zoland Books, an imprint of Steerforth Press. “Ode to Chicken,” “Ode to Pork,” and “Ode to Gumbo” from
Dear Darkness
. Copyright Â© 2010 by Kevin Young. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a
division of Random House, Inc. Paul Zimmer, “In Apple Country” from
Crossing to Sunlight Selected: New and Selected Poems
. Copyright Â© 2007 by Paul Zimmer. Reprinted with the permission of the University of Georgia Press. “Two Drinking Songs” from
The Great Bird of Love
. Copyright Â© 2007 by Paul Zimmer. Reprinted with the permission of the University of Illinois Press.

A Note on the Editor

KEVIN YOUNG is the author of seven books of poetry, most recently
Ardency
and
Dear Darkness
. His collection
For the Confederate Dead
won the Paterson Poetry Prize for Sustained Literary Achievement, and
Jelly Roll
was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He is also the author of the nonfiction book
The Grey Album: On the Blackness of Blackness
and the editor of seven previous collections, including
The Best American Poetry 2011; The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing
; and
Blues Poems
and
Jazz Poems
, from the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets series. Young is currently the Atticus Haygood Professor of English and Creative Writing and curator of Literary Collections and the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library at Emory University in Atlanta.