{"product_id":"the-cineaste-a-van-jordan-9780393348736","title":"The Cineaste","description":"A. Van Jordan, an acclaimed American poet and the author of three previous volumes, \"demonstrates poetry's power to be at once intimate and wide-ranging\" (Robert Pinsky, \u003cem\u003eWashington Post Book World\u003c\/em\u003e). In this penetrating new work he takes us with him to the movies, where history reverberates and characters are larger than life. \u003cem\u003eThe Cineaste\u003c\/em\u003e is an entrancing montage of poems, wherein film serves as the setting for contemplative trances, memoir, and pure fantasy. At its center is a sonnet sequence that imagines the struggle of pioneer filmmaker Oscar Micheaux against D. W. Griffith's \u003cem\u003eThe Birth of a Nation\u003c\/em\u003e, which Micheaux saw not only as racist but also as the start of a powerful new art form. \"Sharpen the focus in your lens, and you \/ Sharpen your view of the world; you can see \/ How people inhabit space in their lives, \/ How the skin of Negroes and whites both play \/ With light.\" Scenes and characters from films such as \u003cem\u003eMetropolis\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eStranger than Paradise\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLast Year at Marienbad\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Red Shoes\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Great Train Robbery\u003c\/em\u003e also come to luminous life in this vibrant new collection. \u003cem\u003eThe Cineaste\u003c\/em\u003e is an extended riff on Jordan's life as a moviegoer and a brilliant exploration of film, poetry, race, and the elusiveness of reverie. \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003efrom \"Last Year at Marienbad\"\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eA place, though visible, is like a ghost\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eof memories. Even memories one forgets\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003elinger in the space in which they occurred.\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eHere within the expanse of vaulted ceilings, \u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003edoorways leading to more doors, hallways\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eleading to more halls, the faintest recollections\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eabsorb over time; no act will wholly evanesce.\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e A. Van Jordan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0393348733\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780393348736\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e W. W. Norton \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/02\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 144\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.40w x 0.50d","brand":"A. Van Jordan","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43993957499135,"sku":"9780393348736","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_0370226d-1f34-4a62-96f7-2ec3a2477555.jpg?v=1683327281","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-cineaste-a-van-jordan-9780393348736","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}