I Ask the Impossible: Poems (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780385720731)

An Anchor Books Original

Cherished for her passionate fiction and exuberant essays, the author hailed by Julia Alvarez as "una storyteller de primera," and by Barbara Kingsolver in The Los Angeles Times as "impossible to resist," returns to her first love--poetry--to reveal an unwavering commitment to social justice, and a fervent embrace of the sensual world.

With the poems in I Ask the Impossible, Castillo celebrates the strength that "is a woman buried deep in [her] heart." Whether memorializing real-life heroines who have risked their lives for humanity, spinning a lighthearted tale for her young son, or penning odes to mortals, gods, goddesses, Castillo's poems are eloquent and rich with insight. She shares over twelve years of poetic inspiration, from her days as a writer who "once wrote poems in a basement with no heat," through the tenderness of motherhood and bitterness of loss, to the strength of love itself, which can "make the impossible a simple act." Radiant with keen perception, wit, and urgency, sometimes erotic, often funny, this inspiring collection sounds the unmistakable voice of a "woman on fire" and "more worthy than stone."

Author: Ana Castillo
ISBN-10: 0385720734
ISBN-13: 9780385720731
Publisher: Anchor Books
Language: English
Published: 03/20/2001
Pages: 144
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.34lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.19w x 0.31d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 12/15/2000 pg. 1729
Publishers Weekly 01/01/2001 pg. 88
Library Journal 01/01/2001 pg. 111
Poder Hispanic 03/01/2001 pg. 66
Booklist 03/01/2001 pg. 1219