An occasion to celebrate: a new collection by the Pulitzer Prize-winning former poet laureate; her first since On the Bus with Rosa Parks. With the grace of an Astaire, Rita Dove's magnificent poems pay homage to our kaleidoscopic cultural heritage; from the glorious shimmer of an operatic soprano to Bessie Smith's mournful wail; from paradise lost to angel food cake; from hotshots at the local shooting range to the Negro jazz band in World War I whose music conquered Europe before the Allied advance. Like the ballroom-dancing couple of the title poem, smiling and making the difficult seem effortless, Dove explores the shifting surfaces between perception and intimation.
- ISBN10 0393327442
- ISBN13 9780393327441
- Publish Date 17 March 2006 (first published 17 September 2004)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 3 July 2016
- Publish Country US
- Imprint WW Norton & Co
- Format Paperback
- Pages 144
- Language English