A01=Will Alexander
African American poets
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Author_Will Alexander
automatic writing
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Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=DCF
COP=United States
cosmological poetry
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
ecological poetry
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eq_biography-true-stories
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experimental poetry
L.A. poetry
Language_English
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Price_€10 to €20
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softlaunch
surrealism
Product details
- ISBN 9780872865419
- Weight: 127g
- Dimensions: 139 x 177mm
- Publication Date: 05 May 2011
- Publisher: City Lights Books
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
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The fifth volume of our Spotlight poetry series, Compression & Purity is a new collection of poetry by Los Angeles--based African American surrealist Will Alexander. Known for densely textured visionary epics influenced by poets like Aime Cesaire and Cesar Vallejo, Alexander here returns to shorter forms to address his ecological, cosmological, and historical concerns. Highlights include a monologue from the perspective of "The Blood Penguin," a song by the "New Water on Mars," and Alexander's autobiographical lyric essay, "My Interior Vita," describing the evolution of his artistic consciousness through jazz and surrealism. Compression & Purity confirms Alexander's reputation among surrealism's foremost contemporary practitioners.
Will Alexander (born 1948) is a poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, visual artist, and pianist. He was the recipient of a Whiting Fellowship for Poetry in 2001 and a California Arts Council Fellowship in 2002. He was the subject of a colloquium published in the prestigious African American cultural journal, Callaloo (volume 22, number 2) in 1999. Over the years he has worked several jobs (including the LA Lakers box office) and taught at various institutions, including University of California, San Diego, New College (San Francisco, CA), Hofstra University, and Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Boulder, CO, in addition to being associated with the nonprofit organization Theatre of Hearts/Youth First, serving at-risk youth. He is a lifelong resident of Los Angeles. Alexander's poetry and his visual art have been greatly influenced by surrealism, particularly Octavio Paz, Bob Kaufman, and Philip Lamantia, as well as Francophone Negritude writers such as Aime Cesaire and Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, and cosmic figures like musician Sun Ra. Much of Alexander's work is characterized by a powerful mix of metaphor and sophisticated language.
