{"product_id":"a-martian-muse-reginald-shepherd-9780472050970","title":"A Martian Muse: Further Essays on Identity, Politics, and the Freedom of Poetry","description":"\u003cp\u003eThose who have read \u003ci\u003eOrpheus in the Bronx\u003c\/i\u003e, Reginald Shepherd's previous collection of essays about the act of creating poetry, and those who take on the task, can immediately understand why it was a national finalist for a prestigious National Book Critics Circle Award. Shepherd was candid and disarming, practical and funny, able to mix thoughts about the Transformers with meditations on the realities of growing up poor. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is Reginald Shepherd's final opportunity to speak his mind about the craft he loved, the art of using words to express the soul and the wit of every person's experience. Edited by Shepherd's longtime partner and intellectual confidant, Robert Philen, \u003ci\u003eA Martian Muse\u003c\/i\u003e stands as a final monument to a master in the craft, but is also a readable, important work in its own right.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Reginald Shepherd died September 10, 2008, after a hard struggle with cancer. While he had completed the essays presented here and had selected them from his available essays to form a collection, he didn't have time to organize the presentation of the essays within the collection. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The task of editing this collection has been a daunting challenge as I struggle to live up to the level of intellectual engagement, clarity, and coherence that Reginald always expected. While daunting, it has also been a labor of love and a compulsion for me, based on the many years I spent with him as a partner, friend, lover, intellectual companion, and sharer of common passions.\" \u003cbr\u003e---Robert Philen, from the Introduction \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReginald Shepherd was the editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Iowa Anthology of New American Poetries\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLyric Postmodernisms: An Anthology of Contemporary Innovative Poetries \u003c\/i\u003eand the author of five books of poetry. He was a finalist for the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award and was the recipient of grants from the NEA, the Illinois Arts Council, the Saltonstall Foundation, the Florida Arts Council, and the Vogelstein Foundation, among many other awards and honors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Reginald Shepherd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0472050974\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780472050970\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Michigan Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/18\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.57lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.06h x 6.00w x 0.61d","brand":"Reginald Shepherd","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49096682406143,"sku":"9780472050970","price":23.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/a-martian-muse-reginald-shepherd-9780472050970","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}