harris, francine j.

Allegiance: Poems

ISBN: 9780814336182
Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2012. First Edition. Softcover. Dated, placed, signed twice & inscribed by Francine J. Harris to Dan Rzicznek. “a story of lions. a wish on silver. oriel windows, and a body i know well in / chiffon. why do my fantasies make the laurel ornate. decorations on every / little girl wish. why not some sensible plan for castle acquirement. / english inheritance. i have a tigress in my hair / and linden in my collarbone. for god’s sake, enough / with my detroit brain. Click myself lakeside. / undress in white beach three times. salt / my shoulders with ocean. gut / fish with flints of mica. i / could have it. So tell it / to my nights.”--Francine J. Harris, “somewhere outside acme, i believe in castles,” pg. 36. francine j. harris is a Detroit poet, who grew up within a milieu of economic precarity; especially in the wake of the collapse of the auto industry. After high school, harris moved to Arizona and attended several community colleges part-time before earning scholarship to attend Arizona State University, where she earned a BA in English. harris spent the next several years working with grassroots organizing projects for community radio, social justice, and queer performing arts, while facilitating poetry workshops for young people and practicing visual art. harris moved back to Detroit in 2002. In 2011, she earned an MFA in Poetry from University of Michigan, where she was awarded a Zell Fellowship. harris is the author of Here Is the Sweet Hand (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2020), and play dead (2016), a finalist for both the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the PEN Open Book Award. Her poetry has appeared in many journals, including McSweeney’s, Ploughshares, Poetry, Meridian, Indiana Review, Callaloo, and Boston Review. A 2008 Cave Canem fellow, she has also won the 2014 Boston Review Annual Poetry Contest and was awarded a 2015 NEA fellowship. Offered today is the 2012 collection of poetry allegiance. As Laura Kasischke (b. 1961) states on the back cover: “the poems in allegiance explore the intersection of terror and tenderness in imagery and music so original that there is a gasp of surprise/pleasure/recognition. As all great singers do, francine j. Harris startles us with the intimacy of her voice, and also astonishes with the art of it. This collection brings us an important writer tackling crucial emotional events, but francine j. harris is truly a poet, doing much of her work below the surface of her words. There is not a forgettable poem on any of these pages.” Visceral, emotionally intimate and devastating, and all around masterfully composed, allegiance is an unforgettable collection of poetry from an ambitious and profoundly skilled poet. From the collection of Dan Rzicznek (b. 1979), Ohio poet and professor at Bowling Green State University. Signed at half title page in thin black ink at half title page by Dan Rzicznek; signed, dated & inscribed by author in thin blue ink at title page to Dan Rzicznek: “July 2012 / Leopolds / Detroit. / francine j. harris / To Dan, / Thanks for your / support! / good luck w/ the / writing. / francine.” Also, harris has written her full signature over her printed name thereon. Trade format softcover original. First edition though not explicated at copyright page, first printing as indicated by number sequence thereon. In very fine condition with only minor wear to fine edges, and slight smudging to front and back covers. Very Fine. [Item #8422]

Price: $50.00