frank, Diane Seuss
frank, Diane Seuss
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frank
sonnets

Author: Diane Seuss

Narrator: Diane Seuss

Unabridged: 3 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/28/2023


Synopsis

WINNER OF THE 2022 PULITZER PRIZE IN POETRY

WINNER OF THE 2021 NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR POETRY

WINNER OF THE 2022 PEN/VOELCKER AWARD FOR POETRY COLLECTION

WINNER OF THE 2021 LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR POETRY

A resplendent life in sonnets from the author of Four-Legged Girl, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize

"The sonnet, like poverty, teaches you what you can do / without," Diane Seuss writes in this brilliant, candid work, her most personal collection to date. These poems tell the story of a life at risk of spilling over the edge of the page, from Seuss's working-class childhood in rural Michigan to the dangerous allures of New York City and back again. With sheer virtuosity, Seuss moves nimbly across thought and time, poetry and punk, AIDS and addiction, Christ and motherhood, showing us what we can do, what we can do without, and what we offer to one another when we have nothing left to spare. Like a series of cels on a filmstrip, frank: sonnets captures the magnitude of a life lived honestly, a restless search for some kind of "beauty or relief." Seuss is at the height of her powers, devastatingly astute, austere, and—in a word—frank.

About Diane Seuss

Diane Seuss is the author of five books of poetry, including frank: sonnets, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN/Voelcker Prize, and a finalist for the 2022 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award; Still Life With Two Dead Peacocks and a Girl, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Four-Legged Girl, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; and Wolf Lake, White Gown Blown Open, winner of the Juniper Prize. She was a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, and in 2021 she received the John Updike Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Michigan.


Reviews

Goodreads review by David

This. This is the standout of the year so far. Diane Seuss’s collection of sonnets is mesmerizing and powerful. Read in sequence, they tell a story in 14-line bursts that is full of life, humor, observation, and tragedy. Once I finished the last poem, I went back to the beginning and started again.......more

Goodreads review by Adam

Quite simply: one of the most astounding books of poetry I've read in years. There's something to be said for having one plate, one spoon, a fork, a dull knife, living out of a red suitcase, eating when hungry, grabbing shut-eye when tired, you're high natured, Joyce James said to me when I lived in NYC......more

Goodreads review by Justin

Rarely is a book of poetry buzzy enough to attract my attention, but this awards-sweeper enticed me into giving it a try. I'm glad I did! The first half is a little slow, or maybe I'm slow, but by the halfway mark I became deeply engaged in the lyricism and powerful images. Sonnets are my favorite st......more

Goodreads review by Ron

Diane Seuss brings to her poetry a combination of tenderness and rawness that’s utterly disarming. Smart and rude and witty and heartbreaking, she turns away from nothing -- except dishonestly; that she will not abide. I interviewed her two years ago for “Life of a Poet,” sponsored by the Library of......more

Goodreads review by Ulysse

A Doctor Reviews His Namesake (Most of the words are his, some are mine.) One sonnet Two sonnets Red sonnet Blue sonnet. Black sonnet True sonnet Old sonnet New sonnet. This one has a junkie. This one has a tear. Say! What a lot Of sonnets are here. Yes. Some are red. And some are blue. Some are old. And som......more