For the Confederate Dead - by Kevin Young (Paperback)

About the Book

In this surprising book, the poet manages embrace the contradictions of the "Confederate" legacy and the troubled nation where that legacy still lingers.

Book Synopsis

The award-winning "lively and excellent collection" (Los Angeles Times) about the South and its legacy, about African-American griefs and passages, from the author of Jelly Roll and Black Maria, a poet who has "set himself apart from his peers with his supple, variable, blues-inflected lines" (Publishers Weekly).

Review Quotes

"Young reminds us that freedom has not been realized for everyone, but his vigorous and appealing voice encourages the hope that we may continue to understand and appreciate one another's perspectives and dialects." --Phoebe Pettingell, The New Leader

"Heartfelt bluntness . . . Rich with unfettered honesty . . . A confederation of losses, continuing Young's exploration of African-American culture and history in musical form: Jazz and blues spoken here." --Katie Peterson, Chicago Tribune

About the Author

Kevin Young is the author of five previous collections of poetry. His book Jelly Roll was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and won the Paterson Poetry Prize. His most recent collection, For the Confederate Dead, won the 2007 Quill Award for poetry. He has also been the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, and is currently the Atticus Haygood Professor of English and Creative Writing and curator of the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library at Emory University in Atlanta.