Watch Your Language: Visual and Literary Reflections on a Century of American Poetry

by Terrance Hayes Narrated by Terrance Hayes

Overview

From the National Book Award-winning author of Lighthead, Terrance Hayes, a fascinating collection of graphic reviews and illustrated prose addressing the last century of American poetry-to be published simultaneously with his latest poetry collection, So to Speak

Canonized, overlooked, and forgotten African American poets star in Terrance Hayes's brilliant contemplations of personal, canonical, and allegorical literary development. Proceeding from Toni Morrison's aim to expand the landscape of literary imagination in Playing in the Dark ("I want to draw a map, so to speak, of a critical geography"), Watch Your Language charts a lyrical geography of reading and influence in poetry. Illustrated micro-essays, graphic book reviews, biographical prose poems, and nonfiction sketches make reading an imaginative and critical act of watching your language. Hayes has made a kind of poetic guidebook with more questions than answers. "If you don't see suffering's potential as art, will it remain suffering?" he asks in one of the lively mock poetry exam questions of this musing, mercurial collection. Hayes's astonishing drawings and essays literally and figuratively map the acclaimed poet's routes, roots, and wanderings through the landscape of contemporary poetry.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF with visual poems.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for Watch Your Language:

“A dazzling homage . . . [Watch Your Language is] a verbal and visual feast that defies genres . . . exhilerating . . . Time and time again, [Hayes] introduces a phrase or form that appears familiar, then radically reinvents it. The results are strange, sometimes surreal and always sublimely surprising . . . [He] continues to devise language well worth watching.” —The Washington Post

“One reads a book like Hayes’s to feel at home in a strange land, to feel one’s enthusiasm answered and challenged, to soothe one’s uncertainty, and to excite it, in order to get more into poetry . . . I get giddy imagining the view if this were the first panoramic glimpse teenagers got of the poetry landscape . . . I don’t think there’s ever been a book like this before. A young Black poet reading this book will see the poetic tradition—the past, as well as the present—as it really is, not one tradition at all, but many, carried forward by many kinds of people who are connected not just by scholars’ analyses, but by community . . . they will feel invited to poetry, and by no less a host than Terrance Hayes, one of the best and most important poets now writing.” —Craig Morgan Teicher, Poetry

“A wildly entertaining and honest view into a poet and artist’s rangy mind.” —The Millions

“When one of America’s great poets assembles his poetic origin story in a collage-like collection of mini essays, illustrations, prose fragments, and assorted feuilletons of a life in poetry, it behooves us all to pay attention. In examining his own path to poetry, Terrance Hayes also manages to excavate a century of nearly forgotten African American poets, reminding us all of the very narrow poetic canon that predominates to this day in the academy. Essential reading.” —LitHub

“A freewheeling work of creative originality . . . Equal parts zine, poetic bibliography, and interior atlas to Hayes' literary inheritance, this imaginative undertaking will intrigue aficionados of the author's expanding oeuvre and anyone looking for artistic inspiration.” —Booklist

Library Journal

10/27/2023

Poet Hayes (Lighthead), winner of the 2010 National Book Award for Poetry, collates a broad range of essays, poems, poet biopics, illustrated expressions, and musings on the poetic landscape. Hayes discusses American poets from the 19th century through the contemporary age. His experiences and reflections take readers around the world, including to the Shanghai International Poetry Festival and to a poetry seminar in Pennsylvania. Intermixed throughout are the author's poems. Hayes can be comically insightful, noting that America's poetry traditions are begat by a private eccentric (Emily Dickinson) and a public eccentric (Walt Whitman). The discussions include musings on modernism, jazz, race, poetic mechanics, language, and poetry history, among other topics. Hayes presents questions for the reader, making this book a good selection for group discussions. The essays range from a few pages to 10. Biopics include short sketches of Margaret Danner, Bob Kaufman, Raymond Patterson, and other poets. Readers can easily jump here and there through the book, finding discussions that are interesting and insightful. VERDICT Hayes successfully provides a multidimensional work that serves as an outline of American poetry history, a reflection on a poet's life, and a thoughtful discussion guide for groups or classes.—Jeffrey Meyer

School Library Journal

03/01/2024

In a remarkable literary endeavor, Hayes has woven an enthralling journey encapsulating poetry, essays, reviews, and sketches, skillfully crafting a tapestry that displays aspects of his own life. With an astute curator's eye, he navigates diverse themes, including race, language, freedom, and history, presenting entries ranging from concise one-page musings to more elaborate 10-page explorations. This meticulous compilation not only showcases the author's creative prowess but also beckons readers into a realm of critical thinking. Additionally, Hayes draws upon the works of renowned poets such as Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Gwendolyn Brooks. These literary giants act as guideposts, framing the discussion and facilitating an introduction to the works of other authors. This is a nuanced guidebook to the intricate landscape of poetry. What sets this collection apart is the author's engagement with readers through evocative sketches and creative elements, enriching the textual experience. Each entry is a thoughtful exploration that invites readers into a world of introspection and contemplation. VERDICT This book serves as a beacon for teenagers seeking an introduction to the art of poetry and is also a profound insight into the complexities of life.—Jessica Calaway

SEPTEMBER 2023 - AudioFile

Every now and then a chime rings in this audiobook, directing the listener to the related image file (which is interesting, but not essential). This is not so useful to those who listen while on the move--fortunately, the visuals are not required to follow the text. Not that Terrance Hayes's text is always easy to follow; it blends prose poems, reviews, and short essays in a survey of the last hundred years of American poetry, with a special emphasis on Black authors. The text is difficult in the same ways that good poetry and challenging academic writing are often difficult and demand the listener's involvement. But Hayes's voice is warm and invites the listener to share the experience. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176705850
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	07/18/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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