Free Downloads
King Me

On the “Best Poetry Books of the Year” list from Library Journal “A sophisticated and breathtaking writer, Reeves takes the reader on a harrowing journey: each poem comes packed with arresting imagery, relentless in its examination of how tragedy and trauma become internalized — cleaning out the wounds to understand the pain.”—Los Angeles Review of Books“Roger Reeves' King Me stitches together many worlds into one startling and visceral book. His ranging, encyclopedic knowledge crosses history, medicine, biology, metapoetics and more, but he tackles it all with a bold and sonorous surrealist flow.”—American Microreviews From a horse witnessing the lynching of Emmett Till to Mikhail Bulgakov chronicling the forced famines in Poland in the 1930s, King Me examines the erotics of care and the place of song, elegy, and praise as testaments to those moments. As Roger Reeves said in an interview, "While writing King Me, I became very interested in the mythology of king, the one who is sacrificed at the end of the harvest season. . . . For me, the myth manifests in the killing of young black men, Emmett Till, and in the ways America deems young, black male bodies as expendable—Jean Michel Basquiat, Mike Tyson, Jack Johnson. These are the young kings whom we love to kill—over and over again."From "Some Young Kings":The hummingbirds inside my chest,with their needle-nosed pliers for tonguesand hammer-heavy wings, have left a messof ticks in my lungs and a punctured lullabyin my throat. Little boy blue come blowyour horn. The cow's in the meadow. And Dorothy's alone in the corn with Jack, his black fingers, the brass of his lips, the half-moons of his fingernails clickingalong her legs until she howls—Charlie Parker. Charlie Parker. Charlie Parker . . . Roger Reeves earned his MFA from the James A. Michener Center for Creative Writing and his PhD from the University of Texas. His poems have appeared in Poetry, American Poetry Review, and Boston Review. He teaches at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Paperback: 72 pages

Publisher: Copper Canyon Press (November 19, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1556594488

ISBN-13: 978-1556594489

Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.4 x 8.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #428,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #67 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Themes & Styles > Death, Grief & Loss #191 in Books > Literature & Fiction > African American > Poetry #1945 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > United States

Dr. Reeves is one of the great thinkers of our time! Words cannot express how amazing his debut book is. Highlights include "Before Diagnosis," "Some Young Kings," and "Someday I'll Love Roger Reeves." Get a copy and check it out.

Good collection of poems for the modern poet's struggles with writer's block.

great book!

Enjoying

The B. B. King Treasures: Photos, Mementos & Music from B. B. King's Collection King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains (King Arthur Flour Cookbooks) The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook A James Beard Award Winner (King Arthur Flour Cookbooks) The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook (King Arthur Flour Cookbooks) The Plot to Kill King: The Truth Behind the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year The Radical King (King Legacy) The Stephen King Universe: The Guide to the Worlds of the King of Horror Sword of the Rightful King: A Novel of King Arthur Martin Luther King: The Essential Box Set: The Landmark Speeches and Sermons of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child King The King's Singers Book of Rounds, Canons and Partsongs (King's Singer's Choral) King and Maxwell (King & Maxwell) King and Maxwell (King & Maxwell Series) Dawn Of The Wither King: Wither King vs. Herobrine (Minecraft Monsters Series Book 3) God King: A Story in the Days of King Hezekiah (Living History Library) The Castles of King Ludwig II (Castles & Palaces) Bible Word Search First and Second Peter: King James Version Extra Large Jumbo Print (Bible Memory Lighthouse Series) Kirby: King of Comics Doré's Illustrations for "Idylls of the King" (Dover Fine Art, History of Art)