Orpheus in the Bronx: Essays on Identity, Politics, and the Freedom of Poetry

by Reginald Shepherd

Book Overview

"Orpheus in the Bronx not only extols the freedom language affords us; it embodies that freedom, enacting poetry's greatest gift---the power to recognize ourselves as something other than what we are. These bracing arguments were written by a poet who sings."
---James Longenbach

A highly acute writer, scholar, editor, and critic, Reginald Shepherd brings to his work the sensibilities of a classicist and a contemporary theorist,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0472069985
• ISBN13: 9780472069989
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Poetry Investigated

Orpheus in the Bronx: Essays on Identity, Politics, and the Freedom of Poetry by Reginald Shepherd is undoubtedly one of the more difficult books I have ever read. Shepherd's thinking is a few levels above mine. He's definitely more academic than I. I still enjoyed it. Having an intellectual poet's viewpoint was enlightening, since I'm always looking for a better understanding of poetry. His first chapter, "Portrait of the Artist," provides a perspective from which to comprehend his discourse. In the following chapters, Shepherd so conscientiously quotes and credits, that by the time I figured out what his point was, I had also learned a lot about what poetry is. (Also it gave me new ideas of my own about how to write poetry.) The section on readings was interesting and provided information about poetry, but since I have not yet read the poems/writings he's writing about, I have no thoughts of my own to compare with his. Shepherd did make me more interested in reading them, however, in particular those by Samuel R. Delaney, because I have read some of his other work. I think he saved the best for the end. There was a lot in his final chapter, "Why I write" -- things to make me think about poetry and about writing in general. This isn't a book for the average reader. The very quotes and credits I found helpful by the time I understood, were also the stumbling blocks to easy reading. If you love explorations of poetry (in addition to poetry itself) and are at least somewhat intellectually inclined, it is worth the effort to read.

About much more than Poetry

Having never heard of Reginald Shepherd before picking up Orpheus in the Bronx, I was expecting nothing more than a collection of poems interspersed with dry musings on poetry and life. What I found myself immediately engrossed in, however, was a rich examination of the life and mind of a bold and unflinching artist. In this collection of essays, Shepherd not only shares his thoughts on other poets and poetic forms; he also examines the personal influences on his own creative output. Partly autobiographical in nature, the book delves into the author's struggles as a child growing up in the ghetto, but existing and surviving as a gay black man as well. His recollections are both stark and poignant, and give the reader a better understanding of the poet's soul. While knowing and understanding poetry will make certain sections of this book much more enjoyable, there is plenty of philosophy, civil/cultural debate, and insightful reflection to draw in intelligent readers of all creative backgrounds.