{"product_id":"trading-riffs-to-slay-monsters-poems-9780374617646","title":"Trading Riffs to Slay Monsters: Poems","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA witty and searching collaborative poetic work composed during the pandemic. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eLet's go back far as we dare\u003cbr\u003eto go back to that land bridge\u003cbr\u003emade of untrusting earth \u0026amp; ice, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eto a boorish faith in our rhythm\u003cbr\u003eof footsteps, the fleeting mantra\u003cbr\u003eof wordless dreams . . .  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSo begins \u003ci\u003eTrading Riffs to Slay Monsters\u003c\/i\u003e, the collaborative work of an elder statesman of American poetry and a young emerging poet. In early 2020, Yusef Komunyakaa and Laren McClung began a conversation in verse that carried them through the COVID pandemic. The result is a work that is at once a document of the poets' inner and outer worlds and also a single and singular vision of what it is to live now and to look back on the epic scale of human history and artistic expression that stretches over millennia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Yusef Komunyakaa,Laren McClung\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Farrar, Straus and Giroux\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/17\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.20h x 5.30w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780374617646\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/15\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eYusef Komunyakaa\u003c\/b\u003e's books of poetry include \u003ci\u003eEveryday Mojo Songs of Earth\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Emperor of Water Clocks\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTestimony: A Tribute to Charlie Parker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Chameleon Couch\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWarhorses\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTaboo\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTalking Dirty to the Gods\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNeon Vernacular\u003c\/i\u003e, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. His plays, performance art, and librettos have been performed internationally and include \u003ci\u003eWakonda's Dream\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSaturnalia\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTestimony\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eGilgamesh: A Verse Play\u003c\/i\u003e. He teaches at New York University. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eLaren McClung\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of a collection of poems, \u003ci\u003eBetween Here and Monkey Mountain\u003c\/i\u003e, and the editor of \u003ci\u003eInheriting the War: Poetry and Prose by Descendants of Vietnam Veterans and Refugees\u003c\/i\u003e. Her poems have appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe American Poetry Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBoston Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHarvard Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePoetry\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Yale Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and many other journals and anthologies. She has held fellowships and residencies from Teachers and Writers Collaborative, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus in Schwandorf, Germany. She teaches writing at New York University.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Yusef Komunyakaa \/ Paperback \/ English","offer_id":47674882621597,"sku":"9780374617646","price":37.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_b35817c2-4020-47a2-be74-7697546c0550.jpg?v=1771915470","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/trading-riffs-to-slay-monsters-poems-9780374617646","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}