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Above Ground
Above Ground | Clint Smith
10 posts | 11 read | 6 to read
A remarkable poetry collection from Clint Smith, the #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Critics Circle award-winning author of How the Word Is Passed. Clint Smith's vibrant and compelling new collection traverses the vast emotional terrain of fatherhood, and explores how becoming a parent has recalibrated his sense of the world. There are poems that interrogate the ways our lives are shaped by both personal lineages and historical institutions. There are poems that revel in the wonder of discovering the world anew through the eyes of your children, as they discover it for the first time. There are poems that meditate on what it means to raise a family in a world filled with constant social and political tumult. Above Ground wrestles with how we hold wonder and despair in the same hands, how we carry intimate moments of joy and a collective sense of mourning in the same body. Smith's lyrical, narrative poems bring the reader on a journey not only through the early years of his children's lives, but through the changing world in which they are growing up--through the changing world of which we are all a part. Above Ground is a breathtaking collection that follows Smith's first award-winning book of poetry, Counting Descent.
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review
Graywacke
Above Ground | Clint Smith
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Mehso-so

I‘m such a crank. I like thinking about my kids when they were young, but this poetry collection focusing on being a new father didn‘t do much for me. The half-reaches on more serious topics were similar. Ok. He does pull back his punches. I kept thinking this stuff feels thin.

quote
Eggs
Above Ground | Clint Smith
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But some days, I worry that we are welcoming you into the flames of a world that is burning.
Some days, I am afraid that I am more kindling than water.
Poetry collection by Clint Smith

#ReadAway2024

DieAReader 🥳❤️‍🔥Great! (edited) 5mo
Graywacke My daughter got me this collection yesterday for Father‘s Day. Nice to see it pop up here. 5mo
Eggs @DieAReader 🤗🤩🥰 5mo
Eggs @Graywacke Hope you enjoy 😊👍🏼🤗 5mo
56 likes4 comments
review
bell7
Above Ground | Clint Smith
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Pickpick

I'm picky about poetry, but really liked this one, a collection of poems about fatherhood, with all the joy and anxiety that can provoke. The tone ranges from light-hearted to serious, as some poems also contemplate the challenges of parenting in a society where a Black boy will someday be a Black man, and shift its view accordingly. I'm looking forward to reading more of Smith's work.

review
MsLeah8417
Above Ground | Clint Smith
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ChaoticMissAdventures Isn't his writing just amazing. So few people can stop me with a sentence quite like Clint Smith does. 6mo
HeatherBookNerd I just adored this collection 6mo
MsLeah8417 @HeatherBookNerd : same! I shed many tender tears with poignancy of his prose. 6mo
19 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
JenniferEgnor
Above Ground | Clint Smith
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Pickpick

This is beautiful collection of poetry. Much of it can be seen as a love letter to the author‘s son. These poems contain the human experience: grief, pain, despair, love, hope, joy, beauty, awe. The author uses poetry here to confront the legacy of slavery. If this book hasn‘t already been banned, it probably will be. NPR link for a chat with the author⬇️

SamAnne Thanks for the e link. Have been meaning to read his poetry after reading How the Word is Passed. 11mo
JenniferEgnor @SamAnne sure thing! NPR is one of my go-tos. And, I just added this book to my TBR today. 11mo
18 likes3 comments
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NikkiCureton
Above Ground | Clint Smith
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Pickpick

A beautiful book of poems about joy and grief, hope and despair. Clint Smith‘s poetry gives voice to the beauty and challenge of raising children in a perfectly imperfect world, and does an excellent job of describing how our memories, experiences, and expectations get us through.

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HeatherBookNerd
Above Ground | Clint Smith
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Pickpick

Just loved this. In this collection of poems, Smith reflects on the sweetness and depth of joy in parenthood and family. He also considers the potential dangers of the world that likely await as his children grow into adulthood.

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Pinta
Above Ground | Clint Smith
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Pickpick

Fathering poems to make your heart burst. 💙
Simulpathity and paternity.

P4. “Waiting on a Heartbeat”

there is joy in being
a father to a mystery

2023

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Floresj
Above Ground | Clint Smith
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Pickpick

Beautiful collection of poems. My favorites reminded me of the magic (and exhaustion and fear) of those early years with young children. Highly recommend- it‘s delightful, funny, and perceptive.

17 likes1 stack add
blurb
MallenNC
Above Ground | Clint Smith
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I don‘t read a lot of poetry but I loved How the Word is Passed so I preordered Clint Smith‘s new collection and I‘m reading my way through it slowly. Today‘s poem is powerful especially in the face of all the upheaval happening in our world.

It helps that I can hear his voice as I read thanks to listening to the audiobook of his previous book.

28 likes1 stack add