Yusef Komunyakaa
Author of Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems
About the Author
Yusef Komunyakka's eleven books of poems include Thieves of Paradise, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Neon Vernacular, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. He teaches at Princeton University and lives in New York City. (Bowker Author Biography)
Image credit: Photo by Lilithcat
Works by Yusef Komunyakaa
Testimony, A Tribute to Charlie Parker: With New and Selected Jazz Poems (Wesleyan Poetry Series) (2013) 14 copies
Associated Works
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 929 copies
From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas 1900-2002 (2002) — Contributor — 174 copies
In Search of Color Everywhere: A Collection of African-American Poetry (1656) — Contributor — 100 copies
Every Shut Eye Ain't Asleep: An Anthology of Poetry by African Americans Since 1945 (1994) — Contributor — 91 copies
The Poem Is You: 60 Contemporary American Poems and How to Read Them (2016) — Contributor — 63 copies
Angles of Ascent: A Norton Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry (2013) — Contributor — 42 copies
Buzz Words: Poems About Insects (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets Series) (2021) — Contributor — 34 copies
So Much Things to Say: 100 Poets from the First Ten Years of the Calabash International Literary Festival (2010) — Contributor — 24 copies
Hambone, No. 3 — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Komunyakaa, Yusef
- Other names
- Brown, James William
- Birthdate
- 1947-04-29
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Bogalusa, Louisiana, USA
- Places of residence
- Trenton, New Jersey, USA
- Education
- University of Colorado, Colorado (BA)
Colorado State University (MA)
University of California, Irvine (MFA ∙ Creative Writing) - Occupations
- poet
professor - Relationships
- Sayer, Mandy (ex-wife)
Vazirani, Reetika (partner, deceased) - Organizations
- Fellowship of Southern Writers
American Academy of Arts and Letters (Literature ∙ 2009)
Indiana University - Awards and honors
- Louisiana Writer Award (2007)
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize (2001)
Bronze Star
Wallace Stevens Award (2011)
Hanes Award for Poetry (1997)
Sidney Lanier Prize for Southern Literature (2015)
Members
Reviews
Magic City by Yusef Komunyakaa
Excellent collection; creates a larger story more than most I've read.
This was a powerful poem showing how memories of war can never be forgotten by those who fought. The character's POV feels so real...
My black face fades,
hiding inside the black granite.
I said I wouldn't
dammit: No tears.
I'm stone. I'm flesh.
My clouded reflection eyes me
like a bird of prey, the profile of night
slanted against morning. I turn
this way—the stone lets me go.
I turn that way—I'm inside
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
again, depending on the light
to make a difference.
I go down the 58,022 names,
half-expecting to find
my own in letters like smoke.
I touch the name Andrew Johnson;
I see the booby trap's white flash.
Names shimmer on a woman's blouse
but when she walks away
the names stay on the wall.
Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's
wings cutting across my stare.
The sky. A plane in the sky.
A white vet's image floats
closer to me, then his pale eyes
look through mine. I'm a window.
He's lost his right arm
inside the stone. In the black mirror
a woman’s trying to erase names:
No, she's brushing a boy's hair.… (more)
My black face fades,
hiding inside the black granite.
I said I wouldn't
dammit: No tears.
I'm stone. I'm flesh.
My clouded reflection eyes me
like a bird of prey, the profile of night
slanted against morning. I turn
this way—the stone lets me go.
I turn that way—I'm inside
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
again, depending on the light
to make a difference.
I go down the 58,022 names,
half-expecting to find
my own in letters like smoke.
I touch the name Andrew Johnson;
I see the booby trap's white flash.
Names shimmer on a woman's blouse
but when she walks away
the names stay on the wall.
Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's
wings cutting across my stare.
The sky. A plane in the sky.
A white vet's image floats
closer to me, then his pale eyes
look through mine. I'm a window.
He's lost his right arm
inside the stone. In the black mirror
a woman’s trying to erase names:
No, she's brushing a boy's hair.… (more)
“Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth” is a collection of new thoughts and reprinted classics by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa. Every line paints a vivid and inspiring picture of the world around us. The geography, the people, and the thoughts are diverse and varied. They enable readers to perceive the world as someone else perceives it. The collection is life affirming and thought provoking.
I was given a review copy of” Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth” by Yusef Komunyakaa and Farrar, Straus and Giroux. I want to diversify my reading and “Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth” does that wonderfully. No matter what one reads every day, every reader should regularly pick up a book of poetry such as this for life-affirming regeneration.… (more)
I was given a review copy of” Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth” by Yusef Komunyakaa and Farrar, Straus and Giroux. I want to diversify my reading and “Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth” does that wonderfully. No matter what one reads every day, every reader should regularly pick up a book of poetry such as this for life-affirming regeneration.… (more)
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Statistics
- Works
- 31
- Also by
- 58
- Members
- 1,501
- Popularity
- #17,121
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 19
- ISBNs
- 53
- Languages
- 1
- Favorited
- 7
