Trophic Cascade [Paperback]

In this fourth book in a series of award-winning survival narratives, Dungy writes positioned at a fulcrum, bringing a new life into the world even as her elders are passing on. In a time of massive environmental degradation, violence and abuse of power, a world in which we all must survive, these poems resonate within and beyond the scope of the human realms, delicately balancing between conflicting loci of attention. Dwelling between vibrancy and its opposite, Dungy writes in a single poem about a mother, a daughter, Smokin’ Joe Frazier, brittle stars, giant boulders, and a dead blue whale. These poems are written in the face of despair to hold an impossible love and a commitment to hope. A readers companion will be availabe at wesleyan.edu/wespress/readerscompanions.

Natural History Before the fetus proves viable, a stroll creekside in the High Sierra “still in a state of uncreation” Ars Poetica: Mercator Projection Ultrasound Ars Poetica: Cove Song Nullipara Ars Poetica: Field Trip Trophic Cascade After Birth Frequently Asked Questions: #1 Frequently Asked Questions: #2 Ars Poetica after William Carlos Williams Frequently Asked Questions: #3 Ars Poetica Apocalyptica Glacial Erratics Conspiracy Frequently Asked Questions: #4 Frequently Asked Questions: #5 Ars Poetica: After the Dam Mother daughter hour Notes on what is always with us There are these moments of permission Because it looked hotter that way Poor Translation From the First, the Body Was Dirt Still life Characteristics of Life Frequently Asked Questions: #6 Bîtan One to Watch, and One to Pray Frequently Asked Questions: #7 Brevity Frequently Asked Questions: #8 soldier’s girl What I know I cannot say Assignment #3: Write About Your Favorite Book Frequently Asked Questions: #9 Against Nostalgia Where bushes periodically burn, children fear other children: girls Frequently Asked Questions: #10 How Great the Gardens When They Thrive Commute oh my dear ones Notes and Acknowledgments