{"product_id":"america-a-love-story-camille-t-dungy-paperback","title":"America, a Love Story -- Camille T. Dungy, Paperback","description":"\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNew poems on love, family, and art from the author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ci\u003eAmerica, A Love Story\u003c\/i\u003e is Camille T. Dungy's powerful testament to living and loving as a Black woman and mother in today's America, and her first book of poetry in almost a decade. Piercingly honest and deeply compassionate, this poetry moves through the mounting griefs of contemporary American life with unwavering clarity. The book is part indictment, part celebration--full of gratitude, fear, resistance, and hope. Dungy explores intimacy, parenting, racism, history, and the natural world with clarity and depth. Some poems reflect on the past; others respond to the work of contemporary Black artists. Many are formally playful, including a series of 700-character poems inspired by the 700 hours of sleep a mother loses in her child's first year. Gorgeous, bright, and bold, these poems speak from the edges--between mother and child, body and earth, self and country. They hold tension and tenderness in equal measure, creating a space for love amidst uncertainty. [sample poem] \u003cstrong\u003eTo enter our own empty house\u003c\/strong\u003e She was seven when we stopped\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\nusing keys. One less thing to lose.\n\nNow we punch a combination.\n\nEasy, but hopefully not so easy\n\na stranger could guess. This is where\n\nI should stop. They are bound\n\nto be angry, my beloveds. I am\n\ngiving away all our secrets again.\n\nVulnerability is the root of much fury. =\n\nI was small. A stone in the yard\n\nhid a metal case with a lid\n\nthat slid like a matchbox top\n\nto reveal our key. Lifting that rock\n\nI thought of bashing someone's head. I thought of harm lurking, dressed\n\nin the body of some stranger. =\n\nSometimes, I wrestle my daughter.\n\nI make her tiny body work itself\n\nout from under the weight I make of my own. In this way I try to teach her how it feels to break free.\u003ci\u003eAmerica, A Love Story\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Camille T. Dungy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Wesleyan University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3\/24\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 104\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0\" H x 0\" L x 0\" W\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780819502261\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Flowerburst","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51216539975984,"sku":"9780819502261","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2712\/8368\/files\/9780819502261.jpg?v=1774375290","url":"https:\/\/flowerburst.co\/products\/america-a-love-story-camille-t-dungy-paperback","provider":"Flowerburst","version":"1.0","type":"link"}