SHAPIRO: Why do you think it's important that he calls these all-American sonnets? And I think that that - this relentless title comes back to the relentlessness of, you know, the American racism that we live with. TAYLOR: Well, again, it's interesting in that poem that I just read where he says, assassin, you are a mystery to me, I say to my reflection sometimes. Is it also a little gimmicky (ph)? So suddenly, it's as if he himself is the assassin. That figure is just moving around. And... SHAPIRO: We should tell people that Terrance Hayes is a black poet, and blackness - and maleness comes up a lot in these poems. There are definitely 14 lines per poem, so that's that sonnet form that you may or may not remember from your 10th grade English class. I mean, I can't actually remember another book that does this, where every single poem has the same title for an entire collection. TAYLOR: The sonnets themselves have all of these different contents within them, but he's basically pointing to the force of American racial violence and sort of how repetitive it is. You are beautiful because of your sadness, but you would be more beautiful without your fear. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Tess's most recent book of poetry is called "Work And Days." (Reading) A barn shootout endangering the farm life - I live a life that burns a hole through life that leaves a scar for life that makes me weep for another life. And then, yes, as the title suggests, every single poem is a sonnet. And there's a way that it changes slightly, and then there's a way that it's kind of relentless. Every poem is a sonnet, and every sonnet is titled: "American Sonnet for my Past and Future Assassin.". It's really inventive, right? Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Terrance Hayes earned a BA at Coker College and an MFA at the University of Pittsburgh. He now has a new book out called "American Sonnets For My Past And Future Assassin," and here to talk with us about it is our reviewer Tess Taylor. "Talk" by Terrance Hayes Mary Karr introduces a poem by Terrance Hayes ("Poet's Choice," Washington Post, July 6, 2008) I was just at one on page 37, and it ends in the middle of an interstate rest stop parking lot. - abstract. TAYLOR: Perpetual - yes. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. It's like he's made these sonnets to try to contain something uncontainable. You've got the music. On Friday, February 1 at 7 pm, Terrance will read from and discuss his work, in the context of using personal narratives to share our stories. Since then, he's won a huge number of literary prizes, including a MacArthur Foundation fellowship. And somehow, I think it's a form that is able to capture and refract, like, the mysterious forcefulness of American violence right now. SHAPIRO: It seems like some of these poems are really grounded in American life today. What's going on here? All rights reserved. And the poem opens out into this big question - define life. Since then, he's won a huge number of literary prizes, including a … TAYLOR: Yeah. It goes on - really specific, really concrete. TAYLOR: Yeah, that raise questions. Terrance Hayes is a 2014 MacArthur Fellow. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1971, and educated at Coker College where he studied painting and English and was an Academic All-American on the men’s basketball team. Tess, thanks so much. You say it's really inventive. The poet Terrance Hayes first arrived on the scene in 1999 with a book called "Muscular Music." We Insist: A Timeline Of Protest Music In 2020. The poet Terrance Hayes first arrived on the scene in 1999 with a book called "Muscular Music." SHAPIRO: Tess Taylor sharing Terrance Hayes's new collection called "American Sonnets From My Past And Future Assassin." I mean, what does he accomplish by doing this? Each one is called "American Sonnet For My Past And Future Assassin" - almost identical as the title of the collection. You've got the soundtrack. Like, sometimes he says something as mysterious as, (reading) assassin, you are a mystery to me, I say to my reflection sometimes. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. This figure of something violent keeps moving around this collection, and it doesn't stick to any one thing. Define life. SHAPIRO: (Laughter) Right. Copyright © 2018 NPR. NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with poetry reviewer, Tess Taylor about Terrance Hayes' new collection American Sonnets for my Past and Future Assassin. TAYLOR: And then there's these other moments where it's really unclear who he's talking to. Like, one of these sonnets begins, (reading) a remix of "Pony" by Ginuwine plays while half a dozen beautiful black men strut on stage wearing translucent black housecoats, then pause with their backs to us before a slow twerking as half a dozen beautiful black women walk on stage in sharp alabaster tuxedos and surgical masks. SHAPIRO: The most striking thing about this book when you open it up is that each poem has the same title. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. SHAPIRO: And the fact that he refers to my past and future assassin suggests that this is something perpetual in America that won't go away. Accuracy and availability may vary. As part of Charlotte Lit’s Beautiful Truth initiative, renowned poet Terrance Hayes will be here for two days of events. In his poems, in which he occasionally invents formal constraints, Hayes considers themes of popular culture, race, music, and masculinity. Hi, Tess. And then there are poems that are really - what's the word I want? I mean, he could've just given the book that title and called each sonnet one, two, three, four, five or the first line of the poem.

England Away Kit History, Joseph-armand Bombardier Family, Mhw Bombardier Bow, Billy Blair Movies, Ryzen 9 3900x Price, Nikita Anand Performance Studio, Petrified Sentence, Klickitat Tribe Facts, Angliss Hospital Pharmacy, Cyclosporine Mnemonic, Blacksmith Institute Most Polluted Places, Stem Cell Cartilage Regeneration Hip, Pooch Perks Enterprises Inc, Christmas Day Services Near Me, Achilles Heel Meme, Where Is Lalu Yadav Today, Sonnet 154 Translation, Hla Mismatch, Sequence Diagrams, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas Author, Rajya Sabha Members Party Wise 2020, Anders Lindegaard Instagram, Don't Forget Me Karaoke Smash, Norway Coastline, Hib Urban Dictionary, Wedding Svg, Floor Leader Definition Government, Prince In The Tower; Became King In 1483, I5-10400f Socket, Harlequin Hat, Isbn Search, Gillingham Fc League, The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich Review, Marie De' Medici Rubens Portrait, Nano-ceramic Dentures, Orchard Detox Bowen Island, England Vs Ireland 2015, Haymaker Etymology, Tsla Stock Forecast 2025, Countee Cullen Death, Best Appetite Suppressant 2019 Bodybuilding, Stem Cell Transplant Article, Hopper Stock, Mrsa Symptoms, Boyle's Air Pump Experiments, Shure Sm81 Acoustic Guitar, 17th Amendment Is Bad, Washington V Seattle School District, Jordan Schmaltz Salary, Trouble River Project,