{"product_id":"the-boley-rodeo","title":"The Boley Rodeo","description":"\u003cp\u003ePowerful, beautiful, and often deceptively simple, the poetry of Marilyn Nelson takes a polyphonic approach to rendering American lives of the past, present, and beyond. Voices speak from varied times and places, while the sound that results is that of a full-throated choir telling often-forgotten truths about human existence. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Collecting poems written since 2008, \u003ci\u003eThe Boley Rodeo\u003c\/i\u003e features seven sections that capture the range of Nelson's artistry, from historical ruminations on grace and endurance to celebrations of artistic vocation and spirited flights of imagination: Sketches describing the annual Boley Rodeo, the nation's oldest all-Black rodeo, held in her mother's hometown. Excavations of the history of a Congregational church in Old Lyme, Connecticut, some of whose parishioners were slaveholders. Speculative fictions in which a young girl communes with the ghost of an enslaved person from the eighteenth century. Autobiographical pieces evoking a childhood spent moving between air force bases and searching for purpose and certainty while discovering a love of literature. Persona poems speaking in the voices of women artists from throughout history, followed by a sequence on the life and achievements of the Harlem Renaissance sculptor Augusta Savage. And, finally, tales of adventure and intrigue starring the monk Abba Jacob, a familiar figure from Nelson's earlier books, based loosely on a real-life friend and hermit, now recast as the hero of an international mystery thriller. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e With \u003ci\u003eThe Boley Rodeo, \u003c\/i\u003eNelson provides further proof of the deep humanism, historical acumen, laugh-out-loud humor, and honest directness that have characterized her writing over the past five decades. It is a work of great emotion and consummate craft.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57499243839861,"sku":"9780807187265","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780807187265.jpg?v=1786694563","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/the-boley-rodeo","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}