Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2018. I'd be happy reading a new prose poem by Claudia Rankine basically every day from here to forever. this book was a thought partner to my hopelessness and despair. It meant me. Or it makesme the saddest. The book is subtitled “An American Lyric,” and that is an apt description for it, the paradox of the lyric (traditionally private & individual) as spoken through the communal. / I thought I was dead". its a meditation and a reflection and it almost feels like i read it too fast, didnt give myself enough time to take it in. As if ratings actually mattered, I vacillate between 4 and 5--because of where it ends, a certain uncertain note, or just gaps in my grasp of it; meanwhile, moments within it beg for 10. Rent and save from the world's largest eBookstore. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2017. You might have even gotten 5 stars out of me if it weren't for your ending, which didn't wrap back around to the personal in any way I found satisfying, but was probably meant to be some big-hearted opening out into the political, and I'm at fault as a reader for not respecting that, but it felt tacked on. Don't Let Me Be Lonely [There was a time] - There was a time I could say no one I knew well had died There was a time I could say no one I knew well had died - The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets. It is an amazing, lyrical meditation on loneliness, death, and American after 9/11 with an interesting thread throughout about pharmaceuticals and mental health. Much like Citizen but obviously of its time in that it talks more about television, the Iraq War, 9/11 etc. Unable to add item to Wish List. It lies somewhere between essay and poetry. by Graywolf Press, Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric. Don't Let Me Be Lonely is an important new confrontation with our culture, with a voice at its heart bewildered by its inadequacy in the face of race riots, terrorist attacks, medicated depression, and the antagonism of the television that won't leave us alone. I read them all together the first time through, then flipped back and looked at each separately. A beautiful set of poems. Luster Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features. It makes me sad. Or it makesme the saddest. Ms Claudia Rankine’s writing can really hold so much loss, tragedy, and loneliness while making space for that of the reader’s as well. What a magnificent collection, bordering between poetry and something more. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2015. Ah, you win, Claudia, for what's basically eighteen blogposts bound up as a book. Read full review. It is also a great page-turner and the perfect balm for unquestioned joy. So, I did, and now I have less than a week to read the book we are actually discussing. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. We’d love your help. It makes me sad. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. I was pleased to find that Don’t Let Me Be Lonely anticipates many of the stylistic features that I found so compelling in Citizen, be it the collection’s fragmented structure, its evocative juxtaposition of text and image, or its refusal to answer the many questions that it raises. The book is a co-mingling of words, images, and footnotes. Or it makesme the saddest. The sadness is not really aboutGeorge W. or our American optimism; thesadness lives in the recognition that a life cannot matter. I noticed the subtitle is also "An American Lyric" and I thought, hmmm, I should read this one too and I should read it first. It is a feeling of nothingness that cannot be communicated to another, an absence, a bottomless vacancy held by the living, beyond all that is hatred or love.”, “Sad is one of those words that has given up its life for our country, it's been a martyr for the American dream, it's been neutralized, co-opted by our culture to suggest a tinge of discomfort that lasts the time it takes for this and then for that to happen, the time it takes to change a channel. I forget things too. i dont want to forget anything about this book. That is not to say that I didn't enjoy it and appreciate it, merely that reading it should probably be done with some sound self-judgement. Welcome back. We must both be here in this world in this life in this place indicating the presence of." So, I did, and now I have less than a week to read the book we are actually discussing. In this powerful sequence of TV images and essay, Claudia Rankine explores the personal and political unrest of our volatile new century I forget things too. Some of these items ship sooner than the others. A wonderful, always surprising book. The words written within these pages cause us to ask what loneliness truly is, and if life and death are merely one in the same; questioning the life we live in being a long to-do list of waiting. Perhaps a little dated, but if a poet can’t wax about the world now, or then, or now as it was then, what world are we living in? Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. September 1st 2004 The book begins like a simple diary, a recording of life events and that forms the backbone of the book, which dips into image, poem, spoken word, then back to diary. No Kindle device required. really brought me back again and again to a thought thread i’ve been working with for 7 months or so: is there such a thing as “natural” death/loss anymore in this country, has there ever been? This is a superlative book of prose poetry. The sadness is not really aboutGeorge W. or our American optimism; thesadness lives in the recognition that a life cannot matter. theres no universal answer to what it means to be alive, and this book offers a perspective that needs to be heard and. this felt like a book that needs to be simultaneously read and experienced. She teaches at the University of Georgia. Received book in excellent condition too. really brought me back again and again to a thought thread i’ve been working with for 7 months or so: is there such a thing as “natural” death/loss anymore in this country, has there ever been? Because this meditation contains revelations. You can confirm your order details before purchasing. I Will Not Grow Downward - Memoir Of An Eritrean Refugee: My Long And Perilous Flig... A-Z Crossword Puzzles For Beginners: An easy and enjoyable way to experience fun an... From Shy to Hi: Tame Social Anxiety, Meet New People and Build Self-Confidence. Period. "You'd let me be lonely? I would read a section, then close the book to catch my breathe before opening the book again to read more. is the breathtaking and often hilarious debut from novelist Raven Leilani. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published (When this. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 17, 2017. I can't wait to read this book again, along with every other book Rankine has written. if all death in the US is made artificial by nature, what are we to do with the resulting grief, rage, and, Ms Claudia Rankine’s writing can really hold so much loss, tragedy, and loneliness while making space for that of the reader’s as well. But sadness is real because once it meant something real. A chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, she is the winner of the 2014 Jackson Poetry Prize, the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and the 2015 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry. Ah, you win, Claudia, for what's basically eighteen blogposts bound up as a book. The sadness is not really aboutGeorge W. or our American optimism; thesadness lives in the recognition that a … It meant dark in color, to darken. i dont want to forget anything about this book. The award-winning poet Claudia Rankine, well known for her experimental multigenre writing, fuses the lyric, the essay, and the visual in this politically and morally fierce examination of solitude in the rapacious and media-driven assault on selfhood that is contemporary America. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. (writingwithimages.com), My book group picked Citizen for the month of May. The book of poetry and prose vignettes opens with author Claudia Rankine as a child witnessing her father looking flooded, leaking, breaking, broken. One unusually sunny April weekend day, I was bopping around Powell's dreaming of leisurely summer reads when I came across Don't Let Me Be Lonely (published in 2004) in the new books, used prices section. One unusually sunny April weekend day, I was bopping around Powell's dreaming of leisurely summer reads when I came across Don't Let Me Be Lonely (published in 2004) in the new books, used prices section. The language is exquisite and the examination of life in America (in 2003) powerful. Claudia Rankine is an American poet and playwright born in 1963 and raised in Kingston, Jamaica and New York City. this book was a thought partner to my hopelessness and despair. Or it makesme the saddest. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. I didn't read it straight through, though. I noticed the subtitle is also "An American Lyric" and I thought, hmmm, I should read this one too and I should read it first. I found myself marking nearly every page with an idea or moment or phrase I never want to forget. I forget things too. I highly recommend it. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages that interest you. Don't Let Me Be Lonely is a multi-media book of poetry and photography by Claudia Rankine.It was originally published in September 2004. This doesn't worry me since I. This doesn't worry me since I read Don't Let Me Be Lonely in three days. If I could, I would give this book ten stars. This book blew me away. Claudia Rankine is the author of three collections of poetry: Nothing in Nature Is Private, The End of the Alphabet, and Plot. Interesting and innovative writing that unfolds a unique perspective. The Herbalist: Memoirs of a 'so-called' Witch: The early years, Finding Eden (The Eden Hall Series Book 1). I will write a longer review when I have some time but this book is, as is every other book I've read by Rankine, seriously compelling. Just like her work exists outside of genre parameters, it exists (or ought to) outside of rankings--perhaps to be measured only against itself, her writing and grasp. Hard to read as the themes covered are dark and some topics are sensitive, but a very thoughtful read. Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric, Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies.