Rules of Hunger - Softcover

Roma-Deeley, Lois

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0965183556 ISBN 13: 9780965183550

Publisher: Cloudbank Creations, 2004

Synopsis

Rules of Hunger is a "soul-satisfying" debut collection of poems which creates a "mosaic of hard joy for the noble gestures and honorable lives" of one Italian-American family with its "legacy of sorrow as well as humor."

About this title

About the Author

A BOOK OF POEMS THAT REDEEMS THE AMERICAN DREAM FOR ONE ITALIAN-AMERICAN FAMILY After traversing the oceans from Sicily to America, the matriarch of Lois Roma-Deeley's debut poetry collection, Rules of Hunger, seeks freedom in the promised land, but finds only more poverty and struggle ahead of her: She labors in a New York City sweatshop. Her father beats her for trying to read and write English. Her children are turned down for jobs because their name "ends in a vowel." In the collection, one hears voices-and echoes of voices-which speak to the polarities of memory and desire. Three generations of women, alternately, confront and deny obstacles rising from their working poor experiences. The central speaker in the collection struggles to preserve the best of her heritage-and to escape the worst of it. Rules of Hunger is a journey through varying experiences of power and powerlessness. At the root of it, all the voices in these poems ask the same question: What rules must be learned and obeyed in order to embrace the American dream? Lois Roma-Deeley has published in six anthologies including the American Book Award winner Looking for Home (Milkweed Editions) and " e" (Emily Dickinson Award Anthology-Universities West Press). She has published in numerous literary journals nationwide, including Iris, Faultline, and Controlled Burn. Roma-Deeley holds an MFA (poetry) from Arizona State University and a Ph.D. from the Union Institute and University (poetry). She is Poet-in-Residence at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. Roma-Deeley grew up in North Babylon, New York and currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her family.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cloudbank Creations
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0965183556
• ISBN 13: 9780965183550
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120