Poems of the River Spirit - (Pitt Poetry) by Maurice Kilwein Guevara (Paperback)

About the Book

The locales of these poems range from the mountains of western Pennsylvania to the Andes, the subjects from memories of Kilwein Guevara's native Colombia to a New York street scene. What characterizes all of them is precise and surprising language, a brilliance of effect, that establishes him as one of the most original young American poets.

Book Synopsis

The locales of these poems range from the mountains of western Pennsylvania to the Andes, the subjects from memories of Kilwein Guevara's native Colombia to a New York street scene. What characterizes all of them is precise and surprising language, a brilliance of effect, that establishes him as one of the most original young American poets.

From the Back Cover

The locales of these poems range from the mountains of western Pennsylvania to the Andes, the subjects from memories of Kilwein Guevara's native Colombia to a New York street scene. What characterizes all of them is precise and surprising language, a brilliance of effect, that establishes him as one of the most original young Americans poets.

Review Quotes

Poems of the River Spirit is more than just a compassionate view of the world of workers in the Pittsburgh area. Guevara's own Hispanic and European roots also turn him toward a wider, almost Whitmanesque vision of the pther people in other geographies. Good work with solid, inventive surprises in almost every page.-- "Ron Arias"

Guevara writes with immense poise and authority. His images are exact and true; his language is raw yet utterly polished. . . .the word multicultural might have been coined for this poet, who alludes to Dante as casually as he deploys Spanish slang. Voices haunt his book. . . .-- "Patricia Monaghan"

Pittsburghers will feel lucky to read this great book.-- "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"

This book evokes a world utterly specific and individual and, at the same time, the world we all live in: a world both beautiful and ruined.-- "Lynn Emanuel"

What characterizes all of [the poems] is precise and surprising language, a brilliance of affect, that establishes Guevara as one of the most original yound American poets.-- "Poetry Magazine"

About the Author

Maurice Kilwein Guevara has won grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the J. William Fulbright Commission. His poetry has appeared in publications such as the Kenyon Review and Poetry, and his first book, Postmortem, was published in 1994.