The Human Line

Fiction & Literature, Poetry, American
Cover of the book The Human Line by Ellen Bass, Copper Canyon Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ellen Bass ISBN: 9781619320000
Publisher: Copper Canyon Press Publication: December 25, 2012
Imprint: Copper Canyon Press Language: English
Author: Ellen Bass
ISBN: 9781619320000
Publisher: Copper Canyon Press
Publication: December 25, 2012
Imprint: Copper Canyon Press
Language: English

“Poetry,” writes best-selling author Ellen Bass, “is the way I pay attention, appreciate, give praise, struggle, grieve, rage, and pray. It’s the way I embody my love for the world.”

The Human Line, Bass’ seventh book of poems, startles with its precise detail, intimate images, and wild metaphors. Bass brings attention to life’s endearing absurdities, and many of the poems flash with a keen sense of humor. She also faces many of the crucial moral dilemmas of our time—genetic engineering, environmental issues, continuous war, heterosexism—and grounds her vision in the small, private workings of the heart.

 . . . When I get home,
my son has a headache, and though he’s
almost grown, asks me to sing him a song.
We lie together on the lumpy couch
and I warble out the old show tunes, Night and Day . . .
They Can’t Take That Away from Me . . . A cheap
silver chain shimmers across his throat
rising and falling with his pulse. There never was
anything else. Only these excruciatingly
insignificant creatures we love.

Ellen Bass is co-author of the million-selling book Courage to Heal. She lives and teaches in Santa Cruz, California.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

“Poetry,” writes best-selling author Ellen Bass, “is the way I pay attention, appreciate, give praise, struggle, grieve, rage, and pray. It’s the way I embody my love for the world.”

The Human Line, Bass’ seventh book of poems, startles with its precise detail, intimate images, and wild metaphors. Bass brings attention to life’s endearing absurdities, and many of the poems flash with a keen sense of humor. She also faces many of the crucial moral dilemmas of our time—genetic engineering, environmental issues, continuous war, heterosexism—and grounds her vision in the small, private workings of the heart.

 . . . When I get home,
my son has a headache, and though he’s
almost grown, asks me to sing him a song.
We lie together on the lumpy couch
and I warble out the old show tunes, Night and Day . . .
They Can’t Take That Away from Me . . . A cheap
silver chain shimmers across his throat
rising and falling with his pulse. There never was
anything else. Only these excruciatingly
insignificant creatures we love.

Ellen Bass is co-author of the million-selling book Courage to Heal. She lives and teaches in Santa Cruz, California.

More books from Copper Canyon Press

Cover of the book Hard Child by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book Orpheus & Eurydice by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book ShallCross by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book A Primer on Parallel Lives by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book Moment to Moment by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book While We've Still Got Feet by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book The Uses of the Body by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book Come on All You Ghosts by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book Saving Daylight by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book Songs of Unreason by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book Otherworld, Underworld, Prayer Porch by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book Our Andromeda by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book Thunderbird by Ellen Bass
Cover of the book The Selected Poems of T'ao Ch'ien by Ellen Bass
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy