Thomas and Beulah (Carnegie Mellon Poetry Series)

by Rita Dove

Book Overview

A collection of poetry by Rita Dove. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0887480217
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Carnegie Mellon University Press
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Different Views

The collected poems of Rita Dove in the book "Thomas and Beulah" are about the lives of 2 people. These poems also tell two sides of a story. Rita Dove is a 1987 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. This book of poems is refreshingly different and I strongly recommend it. This book tells a story with these poems. Everything is in sequence from the 1900's, which is when Thomas and Beulah were born, to the 1960's when Beulah passes on. This book tells the lives of a married black couple back in the day. And is separated by "Mandolin", which is Thomas' side, then "Canary in Bloom", which is Beulah's side of the story.An example of what both people think about the same situation is in the poem "Courtship" on Thomas' side. This is when he wants to please her and so he "warps the yellow silk still warm from his throat around her shoulders (he mad good money; he could buy another.)" On the other side though of what Beulah is feeling in "Courtship, Diligence" is that all she sees is " a yellow scarf run[ing] though his fingers" she also says that "she'd much prefer a scent in a sky-colored flask" and "not that scarf, bright as butter." With that, you can clearly see how the two people are feeling. Thomas is thinking the yellow scarf is something expensive of his that he can give, and Beulah doesn't like it. You have two sides of a story and what each person is feeling and thinking. Through out the book it is the same from. From Thomas' death and how he was feeling then and what Beulah was thinking and feeling at that time too. This book is like a balance between two people. A balance needed for a marriage and it shows the complexity of two lives that see each other and the world in two different ways.But there is also a closeness that the reader gets because this book draws them in from the realistic situations. In example, from the poem "Variation on Guilt", Beulah is having a baby and he really wants a baby boy. He's scared to find out what she will have and when the doctor comes out and sees a "smirk" on his face he knows it's a girl and "he doesn't feel a thing" but is "weak with rage." This book is really interesting because you can go into the lives of the married couple and know more about their feelings and emotions than what Thomas and Beulah know about each other. Their relationship and building a family is sometimes complex, simple, yet it is still only a shallow view of their lives. From beginning to end this book always keeps you interested. And with the description of how each person had passed away and their experiences brings the reader a little bit closer to them.

Excellent Read

I really enjoyed this book because of the unconventional way it was written. I really admire Rita Dove's use of a series of short poems to tell a story. After reading Thomas's half of the book, I couldn't wait to read Beulah's half. The different ways that these two experience the same events, is wonderful. Every poem shows so much feeling; it makes the reader feel like part of what is going on. Once it was pointed out to me that certain symbols stay constant through the entire book, I appreciated the way it was written even more. It gives the reader something to grab onto and follow throughout the sets of narrative poems. In the poems, there is not a use of extremely difficult language. Instead, Rita Dove uses very simple language. The use of simpler words helps convey the time the events were taking place and the people whose point of view they are coming from. By this I mean that historically, because of racism, during these time period many African Americans where not even allowed an education. My favorite poem in the book would have to be "The Zeppelin Factory." In the first stanza, I love the use of the term "whale" to describe the air craft. It gives the image of this gigantic, lumbering piece of machinery. To me it also relates the hollow moan of a whale, to the moaning and creaking of the joints of the airship. The feelings of sadness in the first stanza, quickly translates to the second and third stanzas, as the airship floats out of control, and three people lose their lives. In the third stanza, the image of these tiny looking men falling is absolutely horrifying. It made me realize that I can't even imagine witnessing something so terrible. It made me feel sorry for Thomas, because he didn't even want to be part of the airship in the first place, when he had to work on it, and now he had to witness this depressing event. In the fourth stanza, the reader gets a glimpse into Thomas's feelings of the event. He seems to have feelings of guilt because he did not lose his life that day. The last stanza brings you back to now, with Thomas looking at a Goodyear blimp. When reading this poem, I experienced so many feelings, and so many images ran through my head. The poem just gave mea feeling of guilt, much like Thomas had in the fourth stanza of the poem. This one poem is a great example of how heartfelt and emotional, some of the other poems in the book are. I don't want to give the idea that the entire book is depressing. There are many poems that are lighthearted and will bring a smile right to the readers face. Even though these poems are written about events in a different era, the reader can relate many times throughout the book to the feelings and thoughts going through Thomas and Beulah's head. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is a short read that is definitely worth every second spent reading it.

Review for Thomas And Beulah

I thought this book was superb! Rita Dove is a master at laying out the lives of Thomas and Beulah in an enchanting and thought provoking way. As a reader, I became so enamored with the lives of these two negros, I read the book over and over again to uncover new and subtle details of their fascinating journey finding each other. I fell in love with these characters, and have never been so involved in my reading as when I read this small book of narrative poetry. Firstly, the book is in such an understandable way- the first section being Thomas's perspective and the second being Beulah's. Sometimes the poems coincide and give the two different perspectives that parallel to the viewpoints of man and woman on the same subject- and this is especially interesting. Items such as the yellow scarf, the mandolin, the lost Lem all contribute to threads of themes, interwoven symbols that are subtly distributed throughout the text. You recognize the recurring themes and it makes you feel almost as if you are part of the story and that you know these characters and can identify with them. My favorite poem from Thomas' point of view is "Variation on Pain", when he is lamenting the loss of his best friend Lem. Most touching is the lines "There was a needle in his head but nothing fit through it." The poet has so accurately captured the desolation of death, the burden of survivors. You can feel the pain of Thomas as he "lay on the bunk, mandolin in his arms". Another favorite from Thomas' perspective is "Variation on Gaining a Son", where he is marrying off one of his daughters. It is such a stirring moment as "he watched the bridegroom swallow. For the first time Thomas felt like calling him son." My preferred of Beulah's would be "Courtship, Diligence" where she describes her courtship with Thomas. Whenever she says "Cigar box music! She'd much prefer a pianola and scent in a sky colored flask", I can't help but laugh. After all, who hasn't on a first date rolled their eyes at something the other party did in an attempt at impressing them? Another favorite from Beulah's section is "Motherhood". It still astounds me how the poet was able to capture the feelings of being a mother, "She dreams the baby's so small she keeps misplacing it...it disappears with his shirt in the wash...Then she drops it and it explodes like a watermelon, eyes splitting." These feelings are so real and true to life that the reader is forced to remember when these events happened in their own lives and confront the feelings that these events conjure. I am new to the concept of poetry but I would recommend this small book to anyone whether new or familiar with the genre.

The poetic narrative of an African-American family

Rita Dove's book "Thomas and Beulah" won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. I recently re-read the book (more than a decade after having first read it!) and I continue to be impressed by its artistry and quiet compassion. In a series of poems, this book tells the story of an African-American family in the 20th century.The book ends with a chronology that serves as a sort of "skeleton" for the story told in Dove's gentle free verse. Thomas and Beulah are an African-American couple who live in Akron, Ohio. They are ordinary people going through the daily trials and joys of life. From their lives Dove creates a low-key epic made up of intimate moments and flashes of insight. We accompany Thomas and Beulah through the World War II era; we see them raise a family; we see the evolution of African-American cultural identity. This is a rewarding book that, in my opinion, secures Dove's place as an essential 20th century American poet.

What is Left Out

What I find particularly appealing in this collection of poetry is what moments, memories, or emotions get left out. Thomas's perspective of an event is often undercut by Beulah's rendition of the same event. Situations that Beulah reflects on painfully have even been omitted entirely in Thomas's section of poems and vice versa. These omissions work to expose the "limitedness" of the individual perspective, how two people can function in a relationship as a unit and alone. Dove writes of longing, shame, hope, and love without reverting to nostalgic reminiscence. Each of the poems sparks with immediacy created by the brillance of Dove's language, at once common and suductive.