The Book of What Remains - Softcover

Saenz, Benjamin Alire

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1556592973 ISBN 13: 9781556592973

Publisher: Copper Canyon Press, 2010

Synopsis

"To write well about your life, you need to have a life worth writing about. On that score, Sáenz hits pay dirt." --Booklist

"A former Catholic priest, this poet creates prayerful verse that is at once mystical and utterly human." --The Washington Post

Poet, novelist, and popular YA writer Benjamin Alire Sáenz writes to the core truth of life's ever-shifting memories. Set along the Mexican border, the contrast between the desert's austere beauty and the brutality of border politics mirrors humanity's capacity for both generosity and cruelty. In his numbered series "Meditation on Living in the Desert," Sáenz turns to memory, heritage, and a host of literary progenitors as he directly confronts matters of faith, civil rights, and contemporary politics--always with the unrelenting moral urge to speak truth and do something.

I am looking at a book of photographs.
The photographs document the exodus of Mexicans crossing the desert.
I am staring at the face of a woman who is more a girl than a woman.
She is handing her documents to a government official.

I know and you know and we all know that the documents are forged.
The official is not in the photograph.

Only the frightened eyes of a girl.

A former Catholic priest who worked with Mother Teresa, Benjamin Alire Sáenz has published five books of poetry, four novels, a collection of short stories, and two bilingual children's books. He received the American Book Award and teaches in the bilingual MFA program at University of Texas, El Paso.

About this title

Review:

"A former Catholic priest, this poet creates prayerful verse that is at once mystical and utterly human. In a series of "dreams," he investigates the very origins of human conflict."--Washington Post "To write well about your life, you need to have a life worth writing about. On that score, Sáenz, a son of the Rio Grande border, hits pay dirt.'--Booklist "A remarkable selection memorable, dynamic verse."--Midwest Book Review

About the Author:

A former Catholic priest, Benjamin Sáenz, has published five books of poetry, four novels, a collection of short stories, and two bilingual children's books. He received the American Book Award, and teaches in the MFA program at University of Texas, El Paso.

About this edition

• Publisher: Copper Canyon Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1556592973
• ISBN 13: 9781556592973
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 124