Las Vegas, Nashville, Despair, the Midwest, "Bar-B-Q Heaven," and his family's Louisiana home: these are the American places that Kevin Young visits in his sixth book of poetry. Begun as a reflection on family and memory, Dear Darkness became a book of elegies after the sudden death of the poet's father, a violent event that silenced Young with grief until he turned to rhapsodizing about the food that has sustained him and his Louisiana family for decades. Flavorful, yet filled with sadness, these stunningly original odes - to gumbo, hot sauce, crawfish, and even homemade wine - travel adeptly between slow-cooked tradition and a new direction, between everyday living and transcendent sorrow.
Publishers Weekly
Perhaps the most prominent African-American poet of his generation, the prolific Young (For the Confederate Dead) begins his sixth book, which gathers sets of independent short poems-some very funny, some heartbreaking, almost all in deftly enjambed, uncommonly various lines-with evocations of his childhood, at once cozy and surrounded by half-secret threats: "Back/ in the day, my mother cut my afro/ every few months, bathroom layered/ with headlines proclaiming the world's end." Young then launches into odes to foods, many (but not all) of them from African-American traditions: "I know you're the blues/ because loving you/ may kill me," says "Ode to Pork." Other work finds lessons in country and country-rock music ("On Being the Only Black Person at the Johnny Paycheck Concert"). For all the humor, and all the autobiography, in this big book, Young digs deepest and sounds most powerful when he returns to the unlucky, unlovely, generalized personae of blues, who become in his hands at once a source of energy and a means for elegy: "Let me be what/ dust has to be, settling// over everything," he says in the bluesy "Lullaby," "& I promise to dream// of new houses & old/ loves no longer." (Sept.)
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Library Journal
National Book Award finalist Young (Jelly Roll) energizes the poems in his latest collection with subtle and not-so-subtle references to songs as well as to biblical passages. The book's title alludes to Simon and Garfunkle's "The Sounds of Silence" (1965), which was partly inspired by the assassination of JFK. Occasioned by the death of Young's father, these poems muse on the disconnections of life, generally using free association with religious, historical, and racial undertones, though there are a few list poems. Divided into several sections, this book asks the question, How does losing a parent affect one's view of life and even of one's deepest self? In answer, Young recounts scenes from his own childhood as well as his father's illness, death, funeral procession, and bereavement dinner. Reminiscent of Marc Connelly's play, "The Green Pastures," the final section contains a series of informal odes to various foods that would be found in a picnic. Ultimately, the collection effectively becomes an exercise in soul-searching even as it eulogizes Young's father. Highly recommended for all libraries.
—Diane Scharper
From the Publisher
“Young is a fluid and bold interpreter of American culture and attitude, writing shrewd blues and droll lyrics that upend and undo catchphrases, familiar figures, and down home habits . . . Young reaches for myth but can’t resist wit, playing hilarious tribute to aunties and uncles, dealing in double entendres, capturing the topsy-turvy, otherworldly ambience of Las Vegas. And even while deeply mourning his father, he pulls a Neruda and writes funny, sly odes to the ordinary, focusing on food, metaphors for desire, the life force, and death’s endless consumption.” —Booklist
“[Young is] perhaps the most prominent African American poet of his generation . . . For all the humor, and all the autobiography, in this big book, Young digs deepest and sounds most powerful when he returns to the unlucky, unlovely, generalized personae of blues, who become in his hands at once a source of energy and a means for elegy.” —Publishers Weekly
“National Book Award finalist Young energizes the poems in his latest collection with subtle and not-so-subtle references to songs as well as to biblical passages . . . Ultimately, the collection effectively becomes an exercise in soul-searching even as it eulogizes Young’s father.” —Library Journal
