Voyage of the Sable Venus and Other Poems
by Robin Coste Lewis
"The aesthetic and psychological complexity of this work is underscored by its clarity. This voice is essential to our present moment." —National Book Award citation for Voyage of the Sable Venus
"What is blackness, womanhood, and beauty in relation to the histories that have preceded it? How can an individual narrate the self that exists (or wants to exist) outside of these histories? Voyage of the Sable Venus is a wonderful challenge in so many ways, on each line, each concept." —Christopher Soto, LambdaLiterary.org
Voyage of the Sable Venus and Other Poems has been called "powerfully evocative," "altogether new," "wholly exquisite" and "lyric masterwork."
Robin Coste Lewis won the National Book Award for Poetry for this, her debut collection in 2015––the first time a poetry debut by an African-American had ever won the prize and the first time any debut had won since 1974.
Her work is as confounding as it is comforting and as creative as it is true. Literary Hub named it one of the “Most Important Books of the Last Twenty Years” and Flavorwire called it one of the "10 must-read books about art."
Robin Coste Lewis is an American poet, artist, and scholar. She is a writer-in-residence at the University of Southern California, where she received a PhD in poetry and visual studies. She was born in Compton, California; her family is from New Orleans.
Knopf
paperback
English
November 21, 2017
Reprint edition
176 pages
6.24 x 0.6 x 9.16 inches
