The Book of a Hundred Hands (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780877459460)

The hand is second only to language in defining the human being, and its constant presence makes it a ready reminder of our humanity, with all its privileges and obligations. In this dazzling collection, Cole Swensen explores the hand from any angle approachable by language and art. Her hope: to exhaust the hand as subject matter; her joy: the fact that she couldn't. These short poems reveal the hand from a hundred different perspectives. Incorporating sign language, drawing manuals, paintings from the 14th to the 20th century, shadow puppets, imagined histories, positions (the hand as a boatless sail), and professions (the hand as window in which the panes infinitesimal), Cole Swensen's fine hand is that which augments our understanding and appreciation of this freak wing, this wheel that comforts none yet remains a fruit the size and shape of the heart.

Author: Cole Swensen
ISBN-10: 0877459460
ISBN-13: 9780877459460
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
Language: English
Published: 10/01/2005
Pages: 125
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.45lbs
Size: 8.14h x 6.34w x 0.40d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 09/12/2005 pg. 45