- Paperback: 216 pages
- Publisher: Scholarly Book Services Inc (Jun 27 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0807121754
- ISBN-13: 978-0807121757
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.3 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 363 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,426,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Agony and the Ecstasy, April 23 2000
By Robert A. McCandless - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems (Hardcover)
In The Fields of Praise, Marilyn Nelson brings her views to life in a series of well-constructed poems. Her poems cover a wide array of topics, to include racism, sexism, religion, motherhood, illicit sex, and poverty. The characters in her poems commit unimaginable crimes and achieve inconceivable feats. Indeed, Nelson's poems cover the entire human spectrum. Nelson writes in a deep, penetrating style. Skipping the nonsense that some writers embrace, she delves to the heart of the matter, analyzing and constantly questioning human motives. Indeed, Nelson is not afraid to confront the sickening evil that lurks within human nature and the events that unfold when the malevolence is unleashed. Her poems on pure, unadulterated evil reflect her fearless stance on describing, and in fact deploring the evil in human nature. Nelson offers an accurate, candid view of the events that unfold around her. On a lighter note, Nelson analyzes with extreme clarity the unconditional love a mother has for her child, and the unbridled purity of the natural world. Nelson celebrates the love and affection that is found within the souls of all human beings. Most of all, however, she analyzes the deep-rooted maternal instincts of mothers. In her poems, Nelson argues that the bond between a mother and her child is indestructible. In many of her works, Nelson describes the intense protectiveness of females toward their offspring. The Fields of Praise is an excellent collection of Nelson's poems that provides deep insight into the positive and negative aspects of human nature. Indeed, Nelson's knowledge and deep comprehension of human tendencies shines through in her works.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Love That Sex, April 30 2000
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems (Hardcover)
Marilyn Nelson's book The Fields of Praise is an excellent collection of poetry that captures the deep-down curiosity of the reader. Most of her poems have a parental tone and reflect on her life experiences with her mother and with herself as a mother. Also, several selections deal with the deep down nature of humans and the reason for our actions, such as in "Propositions," where she asks the difficult question of where our sexual desires come from. As a religious person, one of my favorites is "Thus Far by Faith." It is about the faith that the oppressed African Americans had while they were held captive by slavery. It actually reached out to me and made me examine some parts of my life and realize that I was worried about nothing. One poem, "Rilke's Third Elegy" still baffles me. I had the privilege of listening to her recite some of her poems, and someone asked her to read this poem, which someone else wrote, but she included it in her book. When someone asked her about the meaning, she said "Well I think it is about masturbation," but I think she was joking. Marilyn Nelson does a good job of capturing the readers imagination and discusses life and decision making in depth. I enjoyed her book and would suggest it to any poetry lover.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Mother's Insight, May 10 2000
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems (Hardcover)
Marilyn Neslon's The Fields of Praise is a book about motherhood. She is a refreshing turn from the sexually explicit yet uninterpretable poetry that pervades modern day poetry. The compassionate and romantic pieces in her book are generally directed towards children. Though her poems often express fear and concern, they are not exploding with the dark, depressing diction of utter despair that pervades current poetry. She brings the reader into the real world of a loving heart without beating the reader over the head with fraudulent fervor or suffocating the reader with meloncholy. As a mother hunts down and abolishes anything she feels will harm her family, Marilyn Nelson is quick to criticize perceived social ills. Some of her poetry takes on the appearance of criticism and denunciation and can even be interpreted to be bigoted. In many ways her poetry is of a right wing conservative nature as opposed to the liberal overtones that her contemporaries write with. It is always a pleasure to see someone who strays from the norm, however, her overall imagery and tone are not appropriate for effective social critique. Mrs. Nelson should continue to provide the audience with an attentive watch over her children, but she cannot be both the lobbyist and the mother.
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